WALES

Broadband

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what her most recent assessment is of access to broadband in Wales.

Cheryl Gillan: Providing Wales with superfast broadband is essential for businesses to grow and create the new jobs we need. That is why this Government believes superfast broadband is central to the future economic success of the UK.
	On 12 July, we announced funding of £56.9 million which will put Wales at the heart of our plans to help bring broadband to everyone, and superfast broadband to 90% of homes and businesses.

Electricity

Peter Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the removal of its subsidy of biomass for electricity.

Cheryl Gillan: There are no plans to remove the subsidy for biomass electricity generation in England and Wales.
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), on behalf of the UK Government, is currently consulting in England and Wales on subsidy levels for large-scale renewable electricity generation under the renewables obligation for the period 2013-17.

Legal Aid Scheme

Peter Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times her Department's legal section has provided legal advice to Ministers since May 2010.

David Jones: The Wales Office does not keep a detailed record of all legal advice provided to Ministers.
	Some information could be provided but only at disproportionate cost.

World War I

Peter Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans her Department has to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.

Cheryl Gillan: The Prime Minister has recently announced that my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), will act as his special representative and coordinator for commemoration events.
	I, alongside my officials, will ensure that Wales is fully represented as part of these commemorations.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Audit Commission

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2011, Official Report, columns 330-1W, on Audit Commission, if he will publish the methodology that was used to calculate the estimated savings arising from the abolition of the Audit Commission.

Bob Neill: The estimate of savings given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in his announcement of 13 August 2010 was published on my Department's website in September 2010:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/1732653.pdf
	This estimate was derived from the operating costs of the Audit Commission's corporate and central directorates, as reported in the Commission's Annual Report for the financial year 2008-09, and expectations of lower fees for audit bodies as a result of competition.
	We will set out a more detailed assessment of savings and costs in an Impact Assessment, before we bring forward legislation.

Council Tax Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to ensure local authorities have access to HMRC real time PAYE data to calculate residents' monthly council tax benefit entitlements; and when he expects such access to be provided.

Bob Neill: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 October 2011, Official Report, column 1043W.
	It remains our intention to publish in due course the Government response to the consultation, Localising Support for Council Tax in England, where further details will be set out, including on any future arrangements for sharing data.

Council Tax Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to reimburse local authorities for the costs of administering localised council tax benefit schemes.

Bob Neill: The Government recognise that changes to support for council tax will have implications and the Government do not intend the administration of local schemes to put pressure on local government finances.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions will therefore work with local authorities to assess the impact of the localisation of support for council tax, including the transitional costs of moving to the new arrangements.

Empty Property: Bolton

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vacant homes there are in Bolton.

Bob Neill: As at the beginning of October 2011, Bolton metropolitan borough council reported there were 5,782 empty dwellings in their area. Of these 2,776 were classified as long-term empties and 3,006 were short-term empties.
	This information was published on 16 November and is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/counciltaxbase2011
	The data are taken from the Council Tax Base form completed annually in the autumn by all billing authorities in England and returned to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Fire Services: Pensions

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he has had discussions with the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland on the effect of Government policy on firefighters' pensions.

Bob Neill: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, is responsible for the firefighters' pension schemes in England only, and has no role in relation to firefighters' pensions in Northern Ireland.
	The Government's policy on public service pension reform is being led by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and, as such, public service pension reform was discussed at the last meeting of the devolved Finance Ministers' quadrilateral meeting in July.

Gurkhas: Aldershot

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions (a) he and (b) his Department have had with Rushmoor Borough Council on funding to help Gurkha immigrants settle in Aldershot.

Andrew Stunell: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government wrote to Councillor Peter Moyle, the leader of Rushmore borough council, recently informing him about the announcement of £1.5 million of Government funding to support the successful integration of retired Gurkha soldiers, and offering to meet to discuss the fund.
	My officials have been in touch with the chief executive of Rushmoor borough council to discuss the fund and are due to meet Rushmoor council on 29 November. Other local authorities with a major Gurkha population will be contacted over the next month.

Housing

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to balance an increase in supply of new housing with measures to stabilise demand.

Grant Shapps: The Government are clear that we need to get the housing market, particularly house building, moving again. To improve the affordability of housing and to stabilise the housing market in the long-term, the balance between supply and demand is critical. This is important for our plans for economic growth, but more importantly, it is crucial to the hopes and plans of young people, families and older households across the country. The Government's Housing Strategy for England—Laying the Foundations—was published on Monday 21 November. This ambitious strategy describes the actions we are taking to unblock the market and to support an increase in the supply and quality of new private and social housing.

Local Government Finance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department allocated in area based grant to local authorities in England in each of the financial years between (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2010-11; and how much of this funding was spent on community safety.

Bob Neill: Area Based Grant was introduced in 2008-09. The Department for Communities and Local Government pays out the grant on behalf of all contributing departments. The sums allocated to local authorities in England in the years 2008-09 to 2010-11, funded by DCLG and in total, are shown as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Total Of which: relating to DCLG 
			 2008-09 3,059 659 
			 2009-10 3,219 682 
			 2010-11 4,815 2,314 
		
	
	Area Based Grant is a non-ring-fenced grant which can be used for any purpose, as can many of the other sources of local authority income. For this reason it is not possible to say how much of this grant was spent on community safety.

Local Government: Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of active members of the Local Government Pension Scheme earning less than £15,000 per year (a) are female and (b) work part-time.

Bob Neill: As at 31 March 2010, 19% of the scheme's total active membership of 1,800,000 had full-time equivalent earnings of £15,000 or less. Of those 347,000 scheme members, 87% were female (301,000) and 84% worked part-time (291,000).
	In accordance with Government policy, no scheme members in this pay category will face any increase in contributions to secure the savings as set out in the Department's 7 October consultation letter.

Planning Permission

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if he will publish any advice provided by his officials to the national planning policy framework Practitioners' Advisory Group;
	(2)  how many meetings took place between officials in his Department and the national planning policy framework Practitioners' Advisory Group; and if he will publish the minutes of any such meetings;
	(3)  what the (a) selection criteria and (b) appointment process was for the national planning policy framework Practitioners' Advisory Group.

Greg Clark: The members of the Practitioners' Advisory Group were invited to advise the Government based on their experience and expertise of local government, business and the environmental movement.
	Officials met the group on a number of occasions. Advice from officials shared with the group, and notes taken, form part of the free and frank flow of the internal advice needed for the formulation of policy.

Planning Permission: Appeals

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanisms are in place to enable local communities to appeal when planning permission is granted for developments they oppose.

Greg Clark: Our planning reforms are designed to bring about a more collaborative approach to planning which enables communities to express their ambitions for their areas early in the planning process through neighbourhood planning and pre-application discussions on significant schemes. In this way development will be planned with the involvement of the community, with more decisions made at the local level, thereby reducing the need for appeals.

Planning Permission: Bolton

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning enforcement notices were issued in the borough of Bolton in each of the last five years.

Bob Neill: The numbers of planning enforcement notices issued by Bolton in each of the last five years were:
	
		
			  Planning enforcement notices 
			 2006-07 35 
			 2007-08 19 
			 2008-09 17 
			 2009-10 14 
			 2010-11 9

Regeneration: Cambridgeshire

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to support regeneration in (a) Peterborough City Council area and (b) Cambridgeshire; and if he will make a statement.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 10 November 2011
	Government are taking a new approach to regeneration and are working to give communities and local partners the powers, tools and information that they need to address local priorities for regeneration and growth. For example:
	We have designated the Alconbury Airfield as an Enterprise Zone which will create 1,500 additional jobs by 2015, building to an estimated 8,000 jobs over 25 years.
	The Greater Cambridgeshire and Greater Peterborough local enterprise partnership has been provisionally allocated £10.5 million from the Growing Places Fund to create a revolving local infrastructure fund.
	Planning reform and community rights are giving greater power to local councils and communities to determine and influence what happens in their area.
	Financial de-ringfencing is allowing resources to be channelled more effectively to address local priorities.
	The New Homes Bonus, including for bringing empty homes back into use, local business rate retention, and changes to the Community Infrastructure Levy, mean local areas will benefit financially from local growth and development.
	Year 1 payments of New Homes Bonus to Peterborough and the three Cambridgeshire authorities totalled over £3 million. This translates to almost £19 million over six years.
	Cambridgeshire authorities will be early adopters of the Community Infrastructure Levy. Huntingdon and East Cambridgeshire are working in partnership with the county council and the partnership is receiving support from the Planning Advisory Service as part of the Government's Community Infrastructure Levy Front Runners scheme.
	Proposals for Tax Increment Finance will enable local authorities to fund key infrastructure and capital projects by borrowing against future business growth.
	We are accelerating the release of surplus public sector land, and using our innovative Build Now, Pay Later model wherever possible, so that housebuilders pay for the land only after homes are built.
	Through our new Community Right to Reclaim Land we are enabling communities to get underused public property back in use.
	The Homes and Communities Agency is providing specialist expertise and intelligence to help local partners deliver their ambitions.
	The Regional Growth Fund is investing to deliver private sector growth, particularly in areas most heavily dependant on the public sector.
	As a part of DCLG's Capital and Asset Pathfinder initiative local authorities and other public sector partners in Cambridgeshire are moving towards an approach where assets are managed on a pan-public sector basis to reduce costs, reduce carbon and maximise benefits for residents. They are also considering setting up a Property Company to drive the process. The first projects delivered under the 'Making Assets Count' approach will be the regeneration of Wisbech town centre and the creation of a shared operational depot in South Cambridgeshire.
	We are investing £4.5 billion to deliver up to 170,000 new affordable homes. With regard to affordable housing investment specifically in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 62W.
	We are considering bids from areas that want to develop Whole Place and Neighbourhood-level Community Budgets. We will work with pilot areas to co-design new approaches to tackling problems and improving services at different geographic levels, in particular by enabling more integrated approaches to tackling intractable, complex and interconnected problems that require multi-agency solutions. Peterborough city council has submitted a bid to be a Neighbourhood-level Community Budget pilot area which we are currently considering.

Sleeping Rough

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2011, Official Report, column 337W, on sleeping rough, if he will publish the methodology and any associated guidance used to count the number of rough sleepers (a) prior to May 2010 and (b) since September 2010.

Grant Shapps: ‘Guidance on Evaluating the Extent of Rough Sleeping’ was published in March 2007 and can be found on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/archived/publications/housing/guidance
	This was superseded by ‘Evaluating the Extent of Rough Sleeping: A new approach’ published in September 2010 which is also available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/roughsleepingevaluate
	To assist the right hon. Member, I have placed in the Library a copy of the report 'Roughly Sleeping' which I published in November 2007 on the flaws in the last Administration's rough sleeping counts, which were widely recognised to systematically underestimate the number of people sleeping on the streets.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the statutory basis is for the ability of local authorities to charge householders (a) to remove green or garden waste from residential properties and (b) for taking waste to recycling centres.

Bob Neill: The Localism Act 2011 abolishes the right hon. Member's plans (when he was Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to impose new bin taxes on family homes. Such bin taxes would have fuelled fly-tipping and backyard burning.
	I note how the last Government's consultation on bin taxes actively considered abolishing the ongoing legal duty for local authorities to provide local householders free access to civic amenity sites (DEFRA, Consultation on the Incentives for Recycling by Households, 2007, para 5.6).
	This Government have also taken steps to stop the imposition of 'backdoor' bin taxes and tip taxes, which were actively encouraged by the last Government. A letter from my noble Friend Lord Henley and I from April 2011 makes clear to local authorities how prevailing legislation specifically bars local authorities from making a charge for the collection of household waste, except in cases prescribed in regulations. A copy of that letter is available in the Library of the House and can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/bincharging

Water

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the merits of the introduction of a statutory requirement to include non-potable water systems fed through rainwater harvesting in all new build houses.

Andrew Stunell: To reduce the use of wholesome water, the 2010 changes to the building regulations introduced requirements for a calculated whole building performance standard for water use in new homes, currently set at 125 litres/person/day.
	As the regulations are a functional approach, they also allow the use of non-wholesome water for flushing of WCs and other non-potable uses, such as irrigation, and the approved documents that provide statutory guidance in support of the building regulations give additional advice on the use of rainwater harvesting and water from baths, basins and showers (referred to as “greywater”) for non-potable uses.
	This approach reflects a policy in which water efficiency measures should always be considered before rainwater harvesting or greywater systems, which, if not properly designed and installed, carry a risk of cross-connection and can be more energy and carbon intensive than mains supplies.
	Furthermore, The Code for Sustainable Homes encourages higher levels of water efficiency and sustainable drainage. Code level 3 is required by Government for all new housing funded by the Homes and Communities Agency and, subject to viability, local authorities can require housing developments in their area to meet specified higher code levels.

TREASURY

Sir Andrew Cahn

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what (a) dates and (b) occasions he has (i) met, (ii) spoken to or (iii) corresponded with Sir Andrew Cahn since he ceased to hold the position of Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment; what issues were discussed on each occasion; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Banking: Business

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the level of bank lending to small and medium-sized enterprises in 2011.

Mark Hoban: On 9 February 2011, Official Report, columns 310-13, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a new commitment by the UK’s biggest high street banks on lending expectations and capacity. As part of this commitment, the banks intend to lend £76 billion of new credit to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2011. This is a 15% increase on 2010 lending of £66 billion.
	It is encouraging that the banks have loaned £157 billion to UK businesses so far this year—20% more than they did at this time last year, despite difficult global economic conditions. While they have also leaned 10% more to SMEs than they did at this point in 2010, the Government are clear that they must do more to meet their commitment for the full year.

Biofuels: Wales

Peter Hain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider implementing fiscal measures to promote the development of the sustainable biodiesel industry in Wales.

Chloe Smith: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) on 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 92W.

Capital Investment: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he plans to encourage growth in Northern Ireland through capital expenditure projects.

Danny Alexander: Capital spending in Northern Ireland is mainly devolved. However the UK Government does recognise the unique circumstances in Northern Ireland and have continued to allow the Northern Ireland Executive to borrow under the Reinvestment Reform Initiative (RRI) to fund capital projects.
	In addition the Government's Growth Review will look at supporting enterprise and infrastructure projects across the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Carbon Reduction Commitment

Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money had been returned to UK businesses under the Carbon Reduction Commitment between its inception and the date of the March 2011 Budget.

Chloe Smith: None. The decision to use revenues from the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme to support the public finances was taken as part of spending review in 2010. This was prior to the start of allowance sales and the recycling of receipts.

Devolution: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with (a) Northern Ireland representatives and (b) the Northern Ireland Executive on the 2011 Pre-Budget Report.

Danny Alexander: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Excise Duties: Fuels

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what timetable he has set for HM Revenue and Customs to report its findings on its internal review of policy on the use of rebated fuel in agricultural vehicles.

Chloe Smith: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are currently reviewing comments from industry partners on the Memorandum of Agreement in respect of the use of agricultural vehicles on the road. HMRC are aiming to complete the internal review by the end of the year.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Julian Huppert: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of rebate schemes which provide a refund to new-car buyers for purchasing low-emission cars funded by taxes on high-emission cars; and whether he has any plans to introduce such a scheme.

Chloe Smith: The Government support the take- up of low emissions cars by offering exemptions and tax relief for zero and low emissions cars through company car tax and vehicle excise duty. In addition, the Government are offering a grant of up to £5,000 to buyers of ultra-low carbon cars until 31 March 2012.

Loans: Northern Ireland

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether factors other than application of the Barnett formula were used to determine the Northern Ireland block grant announced in October 2011.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 17 October 2011
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 3 October 2011, that the Government have set aside an extra £805 million to support local authorities to help them freeze council tax in 2012. The devolved Administrations received Barnett consequentials determined by the Barnett formula in the normal way.

Money Advice Service: Standards

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the performance of the Money Advice Service to date against the objectives of its 2011-12 Business Plan.

Mark Hoban: The Money Advice Service will publish an assessment of how it has met its objectives and priorities for 2011-12 in its annual report which it will publish by the end of July 2012. Its 2011-12 Business Plan confirms that it is developing a robust measurement suite to monitor and guide progress against its strategic aims.

Public Expenditure

Alistair Darling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of identifiable public expenditure per head of population in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Danny Alexander: The latest estimate of identifiable public expenditure per head of population can be found in Table A.2 of the most recent Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) exercise, published as part of the October 2011 National Statistics Public Expenditure Release.
	
		
			 Identifiable public expenditure per head of population for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2006-07 to 2010-11 
			 £ per head 
			  National Statistics 
			  O utturn 
			  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 England 7,042 7,414 7,962 8,553 8,634 
			 Scotland 8,588 9,045 9,424 9,945 10,165 
			 Wales 8,260 8,609 9,144 9,726 9,947 
			 Northern Ireland 8,963 9,540 10,044 10,550 10,668 
			 UK identifiable expenditure 7,288 7,671 8,203 8,785 8,884

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 12 October 2011, in respect of a constituent, reference CEDEL/6848/2011.

David Gauke: HMRC replied to the hon. Member of Walsall North on 15 November 2011. They apologise for the delay.

VAT: Overpayments

David Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of overpaid VAT by a third party not recovered by HM Revenue and Customs were (a) taken to the small claims court and (b) successfully resolved by the claimants in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: It is the legal responsibility of a VAT registered supplier to ascertain and charge VAT at the correct rate and to pay the correct amount of VAT to HMRC. If VAT is incorrectly over-charged the supplier is responsible for providing the relevant refund to the customer. HMRC has no information about cases in the small claims court whereby individuals have sought refunds of VAT from suppliers.

VAT: Prescriptions

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the inability of NHS trusts to recover VAT on prescriptions issued in hospitals compared to the ability of dispensing pharmacists to do so.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 100W. Since May 2010 I have received four written representations.

VAT: Tax Rates and Bands

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effects on the Northern Ireland economy of a temporary cut in VAT of 2.5 per cent.

David Gauke: No assessment has been made.

PRIME MINISTER

Ministerial Meetings

Kevan Jones: To ask the Prime Minister whether he or any of his officials have met (a) Mr Michael Hintze, (b) Mr Tony Buckingham, (c) Mr Michael Davis, (d) Mr Poju Zabludowicz, (e) Mr Jon Moulton and (f) Mr Stephen Crouch since his appointment; and where any such meetings took place.

David Cameron: I and officials have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects. I refer the hon. Member to my list of official meetings with external organisations and to the list of meetings by the No. 10 permanent secretary with external organisations. These are available on the Cabinet Office website
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-external-organisations
	and
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/cabinet-office-permanent-secretaries%E2%80%99-meetings-external-organisations

Bell Pottinger Group

John Mann: To ask the Prime Minister whether (a) he, (b) officials and (c) political advisers in his Office have met representatives of (i) Bell Pottinger Group or (ii) each of its subsidiaries in the last five years; on what dates any such meetings took place; and what was discussed.

David Cameron: A list of my official meetings with external organisations can be found on the No. 10 website
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/transparency/who-ministers-are-meeting/
	Information on official meetings by the No. 10 permanent secretary with external organisations can be found on the Cabinet Office website
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/cabinet-office-permanent-secretaries%E2%80%99-meetings-external-organisations
	Further detailed information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton of 27 October 2011.

David Cameron: A reply has been sent.

News International

John McDonnell: To ask the Prime Minister what meetings (a) he, (b) civil servants in his Office and (c) special advisers in his Office have had with representatives of News International; and whether the BBC licence fee settlement was discussed at any such meeting.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the list of proprietors, senior executives and editors of media organisations that I have met since the general election which was published on Friday 15 July 2011. This is available on the No. 10 website
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/pm-published-details-of-visitors-to-chequers/
	Details of special advisers' meetings with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives will be published on a quarterly basis with effect from the period July to September 2011. Information on official meetings by the No. 10 permanent secretary with external organisations can be found on the Cabinet Office website
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/cabinet-office-permanent-secretaries%E2%80%99-meetings-external-organisations

Sir Andrew Cahn

Iain Wright: To ask the Prime Minister on what (a) dates and (b) occasions he has (i) met, (ii) spoken to and (iii) corresponded with Sir Andrew Cahn since he ceased to hold the position of chief executive of UK Trade and Investment; what issues were discussed on each occasion; and if he will make a statement.

David Cameron: I have meetings and discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects. I refer the hon. Member to the list of my official meetings with external organisations. This is available on the Cabinet Office website
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-external-organisations

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advisers: Regional

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of the membership of his Department's experts and external advisers comes from each of the (a) nations and (b) regions.

John Penrose: holding answer 31 October 2011
	The Department does not hold centrally a list of the membership of groups and meetings attended by external experts and advisers and is, therefore, unable to advise the proportion of national and regional representation.

Architecture

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the role of architecture in the formation of cultural quarters in cities.

John Penrose: Architecture, as one of the creative industries, has an important role to play in the formation of cultural quarters, particularly in their design and planning. As the coalition Government have recently stated in the draft National Planning Policy Framework, we attach great importance to the design of the built environment. Good design should contribute positively to making places better for people. The planning system should promote good design that ensures attractive, usable and durable places as a key means of achieving sustainable development.

Arts

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the effects of the (a) Baltic Gallery for Contemporary Art, (b) Bristol Harbourside, (c) Liverpool World Museum and (d) Quarry Hill Cultural Quarter in Leeds on (i) the regional economy and (ii) regional tourism.

John Penrose: The information is as follows.
	(a) A study conducted in 2010 estimated that the economic contribution of the Newcastle Gateshead Culture Venues to the North East regions is £104-£106 million a year and supports around 2,500 full-time equivalent jobs. It is also predicted that a £250 million 10 year development of the Baltic Quarter will create an estimated 7,000 additional jobs.
	(b) Arts Council England regularly funds three organisations on Bristol's Harbourside: Arnolfini, Watershed and Spike Island. These make significant economic, social and artistic contributions to Bristol's cultural life. Arts Council England has supplied the following attendance figures:
	
		
			 Organisation name Total attendance including workshops estimated 2010-11 
			 Watershed Arts Trust Ltd 126,983 
			 Spike Island 88,218 
			 Arnolfini Gallery Ltd 323,973 
		
	
	(c) The visitor data to the National Museums Liverpool (combined, including Liverpool World Museum) is published on this Department's website:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/research/Sponsored_Museums_Performance_Indicators_2010-2011.xls
	This shows the number of visits in 2010-11 was 2,635,993, and number of overseas visitors was 342,679.
	(d) No evaluation of the effects of the Quarry Hill Cultural Quarter has been carried out at this time. The Arts Council England regularly funded West Yorkshire Playhouse situated in Quarry Hill had 196,744 attendees in 2010-11.
	VisitBritain and VisitEngland maintain regular inbound and domestic data, based on the International Passenger Survey and the Great Britain Tourism Survey. The VisitBritain “Top Towns Visited” publication
	http://www.visitbritain.org/insightsandstatistics/inboundvisitorstatistics/regions/towns.aspx
	shows that in 2010 among the top 20 towns visited were Liverpool (sixth with 452,000 visits), Bristol (eighth with 377,000 visits) Newcastle upon Tyne (14th with 224,000 visits) and Leeds (17th with 213,000 visits).

Arts

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the future requirement for independent business involvement in the creative industries.

Edward Vaizey: The creative industries are, as the name suggests, largely made up of independent businesses. The current definition includes the not-for-profit arts areas, but the thrust of our creative industries strategy is very much towards those sectors where we anticipate sustained growth in the future. We accordingly engage closely with creative industry businesses and business organisations, including in the Creative Industries' Council, to ensure that our policies facilitate such growth.

Arts Council England: Voluntary Organisations

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what funding Arts Council England has allocated to each voluntary or third sector organisation in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Arts Council England provided 633 charities with regular funding in 2010-11 from a total of 829 regularly funded organisations who responded to the annual submission. The survey of regularly funded organisations for the year 2011-12 will not be complete until autumn 2012.
	Arts Council England, through Grants for the Arts, has provided funds to 237 organisations in 2010-11 that identified themselves as amateur or voluntary organisations. To date, in the financial year 2011-12, Arts Council England has provided funding, through Grants for the Arts, to 153 organisations who identified themselves as amateur or voluntary organisations.
	The funding details for all of these organisations shall be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Despite difficult financial circumstances, the Government recognises the important role that voluntary and third sector organisations play in the UK arts sector.

BBC

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether the (a) BBC and (b) BBC Trust discussed with him the BBC's proposal to replace references to BC and AD to Common Era and Before Common Era.

Edward Vaizey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis), on 25 October 2011, Official Report, columns 165-66W.

Betting Shops: Licensing

Peter Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many betting shop premises are licensed in each local authority in Wales; and how many such licences are active.

John Penrose: This information is not collected centrally. Licensing authorities are responsible for issuing premises licenses for individual betting shops and are required to hold records of the number of such licences issued in their area.

Broadband

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many miles of empty pipe his Department has required water companies to lay in preparation for future broadband fibre networks since 15 July 2010.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has not required water companies to lay any empty pipe in preparation for future broadband fibre networks.

Broadband: Cumbria

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what factors Broadband Delivery UK take into account in the allocation of funding for rural broadband to (a) Cumbria, (b) North Yorkshire and (c) County Durham.

Edward Vaizey: The criteria used to determine the funding allocations for (a) Cumbria, (b) North Yorkshire, and (c) County Durham were the same criteria used in the assessment of all other allocations. An explanatory note outlining the criteria used is available on the Broadband Delivery UK pages of the Department for Culture Media and Sport website:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/BDUK-Data-Model-Expalantory-Notes.pdf

Broadband: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to increase 3G mobile broadband coverage in Northern Ireland to levels similar to the rest of the UK.

Edward Vaizey: The Government recently announced that they were providing an additional £150 million to improve mobile phone coverage in the UK. Discussions have begun as to how this funding can be best used to improve coverage.
	Although the principal objective will be to fill in not-spots in the national 2G mobile coverage and raise the coverage level to 99%, wherever possible any infrastructure provided will be capable of supporting 3G and, when available, 4G services. At this stage however, it is not possible to say how 3G mobile broadband coverage will be improved.

Broadband: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the likely effect on levels of mobile broadband coverage in Northern Ireland following the 4G spectrum auction.

Edward Vaizey: We expect mobile broadband coverage to increase across the UK, including Northern Ireland, following the 4G spectrum auction.
	Ofcom's original proposal was for 95% population coverage. However, Ofcom are re-consulting on coverage obligations attached to 800 MHz licences, and a final decision is likely to be made in spring 2012.
	The Department cannot give any assessment until Ofcom publishes the outcome of this further consultation.

Design Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what contracts his Department has awarded for design services since May 2010; and what information his Department holds on the location of such companies.

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has awarded contracts for design services to:
	(a) Park Studio (24 Moira Court, Balham High Road, London, SW17 7AH) for leaflet design, information and title panels.
	(b) Amos Marchant (Amos Marchant, 1 Longley Road, London, SW17 9LA) for plinth designs, leaflet holders, title panel and paint effects.
	(c) COI (Central Office of Information, Hercules House, Hercules Road, London SE1 7DU) for leaflet design.
	(d) Redstone (London) for a report and template design.
	(e) Adfield (village of Beckbury, Shropshire) for the design of a report.
	(f) The Team (The Team, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ) for website design and a template.
	(g) October Sun (6th Floor, The Communications Building, 48 Leicester Square, London WC2H 7LT) for website design.
	(h) Mother London (Biscuit Building, 10 Redchurch Street, London, E2 7DD UK) for the design of banners and postcards.

English Heritage: Voluntary Organisations

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what funding English Heritage has allocated to each voluntary or third sector organisation in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

John Penrose: The information requested is not held by this Department and relates to matters that are the responsibility of English Heritage.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of English Heritage to write direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Gun Quarter

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what representations he has received on the area of Birmingham known as the Gun Quarter being changed to St Chads and St Georges.

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not received any representations on this matter.

Olympic Delivery Authority

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much the Olympic Delivery Authority has spent on (a) polling and (b) focus groups in the last two years.

Hugh Robertson: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has conducted market research as part of the Travel Demand Management programme. This programme is designed to ensure that the transport network can operate effectively at Games time, minimising delays to spectators and the general public. Over the past two years the ODA has spent:
	(a) £80,670 on focus group research. The vast majority of this was to help plan delivery of Games-time information and advice to businesses and commuters across London and the UK.
	(b) £253,085 on polling. Surveys were conducted so as to understand likely travel behaviour during the Games and plan accordingly around venues across London and the UK.

Olympic Delivery Authority: Pay

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much was paid in bonuses to (a) directors, (b) senior managers, (c) specialist and delivery managers and (d) executive support and administration staff in the Olympic Delivery Authority since May 2011.

Hugh Robertson: Staff remuneration including bonuses paid to directors, senior managers and other staff is recorded in the Olympic Delivery Authority annual report which can be found at the following link:
	http://www.london2012.com/publications/oda-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11.php
	These figures are correct as at March 2011 and will be updated again in the 2011-12 annual report which will be published in the summer of 2012.

Olympic Games 2012: Advertising

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much (a) his Department and (b) the Government Olympic Executive spent on newspaper advertising in each publication in the latest year for which figures are available.

Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) spent £94,317.43 on newspaper advertising in the financial year 2010-11. This was spent on filling a number of public appointments. The Department pays for press space through the Central Office of Information (COI), who invoice the Department directly, and as a consequence it is not possible to provide a breakdown by publication. The above figure includes design and management costs billed by COI to DCMS as part of the contract.
	The Government Olympic Executive did not incur any spend on newspaper advertising in 2010-11.

Olympic Games 2012: Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what bonuses have been paid to (a) consultants and (b) contractors working on the Olympic Park construction project since (i) the commencement of the project and (ii) May 2010.

Hugh Robertson: Some Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) construction and consultant contracts include incentivisation payments linked to performance. These payments are made on achievement of agreed performance indicators relating to objectives such as schedule milestones and delivering cost reductions. As the ODA is currently in the process of closing out contracts with suppliers working on the programme, the level of incentive earned is not available at this time and in some cases will be commercially sensitive and subject to confidentiality arrangements.
	Incentive payments made to date to the ODA's delivery partner CLM are recorded in the ODA's annual reports which can be found at the following links:
	http://www.london2012.com/publications/oda-annual-report-and-accounts-2006-2007.php
	http://www.london2012.com/publications/oda-annual-report-and-accounts-2007-2008.php
	http://www.london2012.com/publications/oda-annual-report-and-accounts.php
	http://www.london2012.com/publications/oda-annual-report-accounts-2010.php
	http://www.london2012.com/publications/oda-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11.php

Sport England

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment Sport England is undertaking of the whole sport plan of each national governing body of sport in terms of their effectiveness in increasing participation in sport.

Hugh Robertson: Sport England formally assesses each national governing body (NGB) in the delivery of its whole sport plan (WSP) twice per year, and a large part of this assessment will cover an NGB’s success in growing adult (16+) participation. Increasing adult participation is a contracted outcome with most of Sport England’s funded NGBs, and is measured twice yearly through the Active People Survey. In addition, Sport England works closely with NGBs to understand how well they are translating their WSP into actual delivery on the ground that is impacting adult participation. Where Sport England concludes that an NGB will not achieve its contracted outcomes, then it has the right to reduce and re-allocate its funding, which has been the case with a limited number of NGBs.

Sport England

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how Sport England will hold each national governing body of sport accountable for increasing grass-roots participation in sport as part of the 2013-17 whole sport plans;
	(2)  if he will instruct Sport England to ensure that when national governing bodies allocate lottery and Exchequer funding to increase participation in sports it is allocated on the basis of payment by results.

Hugh Robertson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, wrote to all national governing bodies of sport on 19 July, stating that the next round of whole sport plan funding from 2013, will be based on a proven ability to maintain and increase participation, and funding will be decreased or may cease altogether for organisations that fail to achieve their objectives.

Sports: Schools

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to ensure that local authorities apply the same criteria for School Games to identify children to compete at county and national level; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: School Games local organising committees are responsible for planning and delivering the county-level Festivals of Sport, linked to the intra and inter-school competitions taking place in their area. The Youth Sport Trust has published guidance for the committees to ensure national consistency of approach. The country's most talented athletes of school age will compete at the School Games national finals if selected by their national governing body for sport.

Sports: Schools

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which schools are eligible to participate in School Games; how they will be funded by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: All schools in England are eligible to participate in the School Games. My Department is funding School Games until 2014-15. Over the period 2010-11 to 2014-15, £130.9 million Exchequer and lottery funding will be invested to support the programme.

Sports: Schools

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which sports will be included in School Games competitions; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: Currently 24 sports are available to schools. These are athletics, badminton, basketball, boccia, cricket, fencing, football, Goalball, golf, gymnastics, hockey, netball, New Age Kurling, Panathlon (a multi-sport disability event), Polybat, rugby league, rugby union, rowing, swimming, tennis, table tennis, table cricket, volleyball and wheelchair basketball. By September next year, the ambition is to increase that number to 38.
	The inaugural School Games national finals will feature 12 of these sports, namely athletics, badminton, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, hockey, judo, rugby sevens, swimming, table tennis, volleyball and wheelchair basketball.

Telecommunications

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport for what reasons telecoms providers are permitted to charge the same line rental for customers across the UK despite varying levels of service and coverage.

Edward Vaizey: The matter raised is an operational one for the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, my officials spoke to Ofcom, who advised:
	The UK telecommunications industry is strongly competitive, with a very large number of national and local companies providing a range of services. This competitive environment has been supported by Ofcom through focused interventions at the wholesale level, such as local loop unbundling, wholesale line rental, wholesale broadband controls and access to duct and poles.
	Ofcom has determined that given this diversity of competition it is not appropriate to regulate the supply or price of retail services. That said, Ofcom has imposed a Universal Service obligation on BT, due to its position of market dominance, which ensures all UK citizens have access to a telephone line for a uniform price. This has the effect of reducing the cost of such services to citizens in the less accessible or densely populated parts of the UK.

Television

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the economic value of the non-public service elements of the commercial television broadcast sector to the UK economy.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has made no recent estimate of the economic value of non-public service broadcasters. However, I am clear that non-public service broadcasting (PSB) channels make an important contribution to the UK economy. Figures from the non-PSB commercial broadcasters’ industry body, the Commercial Broadcasters Association (COBA), estimate that its members are investing over £400 million per annum in UK production.

VisitBritain: Voluntary Organisations

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what funding Visit Britain has allocated to each voluntary or third sector organisation in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

John Penrose: VisitBritain has not allocated any funding to voluntary or third sector organisations in 2010-11 or 2011-12.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Armed Forces: Children

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department regards the mobilisation of child soldiers as falling within the definition of violent crime in the Building Stability Overseas strategy.

Henry Bellingham: The issue of child soldiers falls within the remit of the Building Stability Overseas Strategy. The strategy sets out how conflict and violence can have a particularly devastating impact on the lives of women and children. The Government aims to help build stable states and thereby prevent the situations in which children are most likely to be drawn into violence.
	We also aim to take direct action to help stop the problem of child soldiers, by applying diplomatic pressure to offending parties and by funding projects to help protect and rehabilitate children. Britain is a member of the United Nations Security Council Working Group on children and armed conflict, which leads the international response on this issue.

Arms Trade: EU Action

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his priorities are for the review of the EU Common Position on common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment, due to begin in December 2011.

Alistair Burt: We believe that the EU Common Position defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment works well, and that the review of the Common Position should concentrate on its common application by EU member states. We are actively participating in preparations for the review of this EU Common Position through the EU Council Working Group on the Export of Conventional Arms.

Arms Trade: Treaties

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider including messages of support for the arms trade treaty in the core script for overseas ministerial engagements.

Alistair Burt: Securing a robust and effective arms trade treaty (ATT) is a priority for the UK Government. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers regularly raise the treaty, when appropriate, in ministerial engagements. Outreach on ATT, including through ministerial engagement, is intensifying as we approach the crucial Negotiating Conference in 2012.

Arms Trade: Treaties

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likelihood of Ambassador Moritan’s most recent paper on the Arms Trade treaty being adopted as the basis for negotiations.

Alistair Burt: The Preparatory Committee meeting process, under the chairmanship of Ambassador Moritan of Argentina, has made much progress since the first meeting in 2010. The chair’s papers provide an accurate record of the discussions so far, and the UK, together with a significant number of UN member states, fully supports their use as the basis for negotiations at the 2012 conference. The rules of procedure for the 2012 conference will be established at the final Preparatory Committee meeting in New York, taking place from 13 to 17 February 2012.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: EU Enlargement

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on Bosnia's bid for EU membership; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Government fully support Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in its aspiration to join the European Union. We remain wholly and actively committed to BiH as a sovereign, stable country with functioning state level institutions, irreversibly on the path to EU and NATO membership.
	We remain seriously concerned at the very limited progress being made by BiH towards its European goal At present, BiH has yet to establish a satisfactory track record in implementing obligations under its Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU. Such a track record would be a key element for any eventual formal application by BiH for EU membership to be considered by the EU.
	We continue to work on the ground, and in all relevant international forums, to deliver clear, consistent messages to BiH's leaders and citizens on the importance of committed effort to meet the criteria for progress towards EU accession.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Terrorism

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the threat of terrorist attacks in Bosnia by groups influenced by Wahhabist ideology.

David Lidington: There have been very few terrorist attacks in recent years in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). It should be noted that the individual responsible for the shooting that took place outside the US embassy in Sarajevo on 28 October 2011 was a Serbian national, who is believed to have been radicalised in a third country.
	The overall assessment of the level of terrorist threat in BiH has not changed as a result of this incident. We continue to assess, as set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Travel Advice, that there is an underlying threat from terrorism in the country.

British Nationals Abroad: Prisoners

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK nationals are serving custodial sentences in (a) EU member states and (b) non-EU states.

Jeremy Browne: As of March 2011 we were aware of 554 British nationals in detention in EU countries, and a further 1,522 in other countries worldwide. These figures include individuals detained at all stages of the legal process. We are unable to estimate how many of those are serving custodial sentences because our case-handling database does not collate this information. Estimating this figure would incur disproportionate cost. Supporting British nationals in difficulty around the world is a priority for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This support is explained in our publication “Support for British nationals abroad; A guide”, available on the FCO website at:
	www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/2855621/support-for-british-nationals-abroad.pdf
	We aim to contact British nationals, depending on local circumstances, within 24 hours of being told of their arrest or detention. Our role is to provide information about the local legal system, including the availability of local English-speaking lawyers, and to support the welfare of the detainee.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Foreign Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of bilateral relations with Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: We enjoy good diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I visited the DRC in July 2010 and I have met the Foreign Minister four times in the last eighteen months. Our embassy in Kinshasa engages regularly with the Government of DRC on a range of issues. Britain is a major bilateral donor to DRC. The Department for International Development plans to spend £198 million on average per year from 2010-15 in DRC.

Human Rights: Business

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress the Government has made on ensuring that the UN Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework for Business and Human Rights is implemented by (a) central Government Departments and (b) UK companies; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The Government expect UK businesses to operate at all times in a way respectful of human rights whether in Britain or overseas. Following the UN Human Rights Council’s June 2011 endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in which the UK played an important role, the Government are fully committed to implementing those principles as part of a wider strategy on business and human rights.
	A cross-Whitehall steering group has been formed to co-ordinate input from across relevant Government Departments into the strategy’s formulation. We also plan to seek inputs to this process from the business world and non-governmental individuals and organisations.

Libya: Asylum

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of living conditions for Libyans in refugee camps.

Andrew Mitchell: I have been asked to reply.
	According to the UN refugees agency (UNHCR), nearly all Libyan refugees on or near the Libyan borders are currently accommodated with host families. Latest UNHCR reports indicate that only two Libyans are still living in border camps in Tunisia, which are managed by UNHCR. We remain in close contact with UNHCR to monitor the situation in the camps.

Libya: Elections

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy about providing election and campaigning training and support in Libya.

Alistair Burt: We have had no discussions with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy about providing election support to Libya.

Macedonia: EU Enlargement

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on Macedonia's bid for EU membership; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The UK is a firm supporter of Macedonia's bid to join the EU, provided it meets all the necessary criteria. We welcomed the European Commission's latest progress report in October 2011, including its recommendation that the EU open accession negotiations with Macedonia.
	We also support the Commission's encouragement to the Macedonian Government to enhance its reform efforts, particularly in the areas of media freedoms, judicial independence, public administration and the fight against corruption.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay of 26 September and 23 August 2011 regarding Mr James Smith.

David Lidington: The letters have been transferred to Her Majesty's Treasury for answer.

Somalia: International Assistance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to work with the international community to remove administrative and political restrictions on the delivery of aid in Somalia.

Andrew Mitchell: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK Government support an inclusive political process based on the Djibouti Agreement, including fulfilment of the key tasks of the Transitional Federal Charter. We are committed to supporting the transitional government if they demonstrate results, and to supporting a viable and inclusive new arrangement after August 2012.
	The Department for International Development is working with international partners to help address corruption and reduce conflict so more aid can be delivered, including to new areas. My Department also provides funding to the United Nations and others to develop measures which remove practical barriers to aid delivery, including on managing the security risks which aid programmes face.
	The Prime Minister recently announced that he will host an international conference on Somalia in early 2012, which aims to pull together international effort to address piracy, terrorism, conflict and poverty.

HOME DEPARTMENT

All Wales School Liaison Core Programme

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department plans to provide to the All Wales School Liaison Core Programme in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 21 November 2011
	The Home Office does not provide any direct funding for the All Wales School Liaison Core Programme. The All Wales School Liaison Core Programme scheme is jointly funded by the Welsh Government and the four Welsh police forces.
	Queries on future funding should be directed to both the Welsh Government and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Wales (ACPO Cymru).

Asylum: Libya

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to review her policy on Libyan refugees who wish to settle in the UK.

Damian Green: Applications for asylum from Libyans nationals are considered in the same way as other nationalities: on their individual merits, and in line with the existing legal framework. If applicants are granted refugee status the UK Border Agency will grant them leave to remain in the UK for five years, after which their case is reviewed in order to determine whether UK Border Agency will grant indefinite leave to remain in the UK. We will continue to monitor the situation in Libya very closely in case there are grounds to make any exception to this approach.

British Nationality

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether she plans to make changes to the Life in the UK citizenship test; and what the timetable for any such changes will be;
	(2)  who is responsible for deciding what changes are made to the Life in the UK citizenship test.

Damian Green: The Home Office is responsible for the Life in the UK test.
	The Prime Minister announced on 10 October that we would change the test and put British history and culture at the heart of it. We plan to have a revised test in place by autumn 2012.

Crimes of Violence

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of (a) violent crime offences and (b) serious violent crime in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the north-east and (iv) England and Wales in each year since 2009.

Crispin Blunt: I have been asked to reply.
	Information showing the number of persons found guilty at all courts in the north-east region and England and Wales for offences of violence against the person, in 2009 and 2010 (latest available) can be found in the following table.
	Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level or local authority level. Data are given in the table for the north-east region in which the Jarrow constituency and South Tyneside are located.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring 2012.
	Court level breakdown is available through the Ministry of Justice website.
	
		
			 Persons found guilty at all courts for violence against the person offences in the north-east region (1)  and England and Wales, 2009 to 2010 (2,3) 
			 Area/offence type 2009 (6) 2010 
			 England and Wales   
			 More serious offences(4) 3,396 3,512 
			 Less serious offences(5) 45,384 46,770 
			 Common assault 52,790 55,438 
			 Of which:   
			 North-east region   
			 More serious offences(4) 181 223 
			 Less serious offences(5) 3,179 3,009 
			 Common assault 2,653 2,758 
			 (1) Includes Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria police force areas. (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Includes: Murder, Attempted Murder, Threat to conspiracy to murder, Manslaughter, Infanticide, Child destruction, Causing death by dangerous driving, Manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, Causing death by careless driving under the influence of drink or drugs, Causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person, Causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving, Causing death by driving—unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers, Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking, Wounding or other act endangering life, Endangering railway passenger. (5) Includes: Endangering life at sea, Other wounding etc. (including offences of assaults occasioning actual bodily harm and wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm), Cruelty to or neglect of children, Abandoning child aged under two years, Child abduction, procuring illegal abortion, Concealment of birth. (6 )Post publication revisions have been made to 2009 figures to account for the late receipt of a small number of court records. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Harassment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were victims of stalking or harassment in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 15 November 2011
	Estimates of the number of males and females who were victims of stalking in each of the last five years are provided in the following table. These are based on a self completion module in the British Crime Survey which asks adults aged 16 to 59 questions on their experience of stalking.
	
		
			 Estimated numbers of victims of stalking in the last year among adults aged 16 to 59, 2006-07 to 2010-11—England and Wales, BCS 
			 Number (thousand) 
			  All 
			  Estimate Range (1) 
			 2006-07 1,629 1,524 to 1,734 
			 2007-08(2) — — 
			 2008-09 1,100 1,015 to 1,184 
			 2009-10 1,165 1,070 to 1,259 
			 2010-11 1,183 1,049 to 1,317 
			 (1) The BCS is a sample survey which means that its estimates are subject to a margin of error. It is possible to calculate a confidence interval around the estimate showing the likely range for the true population value. This has been calculated at the 95% level, meaning that that there is a 19 in 20 chance that the true estimate lies within the given range. (2) The 2007-06 BCS did not include questions on stalking.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to respond to the letter of 4 August 2011 and email of 12 September 2011 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay regarding a constituent Mr Adrian Jones.

James Brokenshire: The letter of 4 August 2011 was given to our colleagues in the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) as the matters raised within were for their consideration as they related to operational issues. ACPO sent a response to the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay dated 2 September.

Metropolitan Police Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police staff employed by the Metropolitan Police Service subsequently took employment with a security company in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Nick Herbert: This information is not held centrally.

Offenders: Ex-servicemen

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many police force areas arrestees are routinely asked whether they have served in the armed forces; and whether they are directed to relevant welfare agencies.

Nick Herbert: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given on 10 November 2011, Official Report, column 421W.

Police Community Support Officers: Manpower

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers have been employed in police forces in Wales at each payband in (a) 2007, (b) 2009 and (c) 2011.

Nick Herbert: Available data relating to police community support officer strength in Wales, broken down by police force area, as at 31 March 2007, 2009 and 2011 are given in the following table.
	Information on police community support officer pay is not collected centrally.
	
		
			 Police community support officer strength (1)  in Wales, as at 31 March 2007, 2009 and 2011 
			  As at 31 March 
			 Police force area 2007 2009 2011 
			 Dyfed Powys 77 82 80 
			 Gwent 105 139 142 
			 North Wales 145 159 159 
			 South Wales 314 325 304 
			 Wales forces total 641 705 686 
			 (1) These are full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.

Police: Forensic Science

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken is for the police to receive a toxicology report in cases of a death in suspicious or unknown circumstances.

James Brokenshire: For police forces that have contracted under the National Forensic Framework Agreement (NFFA) procurement mechanism the standard turnaround time for toxicology cases involving drugs of abuse or medicinal drugs in blood or urine is 10 calendar days. There is also an NFFA service that involves the toxicology of named and unknown drugs in other body samples (e.g. hair, stomach contents).
	This service is contracted to be delivered to a turnaround time that is agreed on a case by case basis due to the bespoke nature of the service.
	Other contractual arrangements outside the NFFA are still in place in some forces.

Police: Pensions

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of a police officer's pensionable pay is deducted in pension contributions.

Nick Herbert: Police officers who are members of the police pension scheme 1987 contribute 11% of their salary towards their pension. Those who are members of the police pension scheme 2006 contribute 9.5% of their salary.

Police: Redundancy

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have retired or been made redundant in police forces in Wales since 2010.

Nick Herbert: The latest available information shows the number of police officers in police forces in Wales that have retired, 2010-11 (full-time equivalent). Retirement figures include those police officers that have early medical retirement, medical retirement after 30 years of service and normal retirement. The table does not include redundancy as police officers cannot be made redundant.
	
		
			 P olice officers in police forces in Wales that have retired 2010-11 (1,2) 
			  Number 
			 Dyfed-Powys 39 
			 Gwent 34 
			 North Wales 49 
			 South Wales 90 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Retirement figures include those that have early medical retirement, medical retirement after 30 years of service and normal retirement.

Police: Working Hours

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess the effect on crime of the restriction of the working hours of scene of crime officers.

Nick Herbert: This is an operational matter for the police.

Primates: Research

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-human primates were imported into the UK for the purposes of scientific research in each of the last three years.

Lynne Featherstone: The answer, based on the latest information available, is in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of non-human primates imported into the UK for the purposes of scientific research 
			 2010 2,071 
			 2009 2,200 
			 2008 2,723

Rape

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to implement recommendation 22 of Baroness Stern's review on rape complaints since February 2011.

Lynne Featherstone: The terms set by Parliament allow the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) the discretion to set aside the requirement for immediate reporting and take a view based on the facts of the case. The Ministry of Justice has explored with CICA how to ensure that case officers have the correct guidance and training in applying discretion in rape cases, and that process is being kept under review.

Sexual Offences: Children

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people convicted for sexual offences were barred from working with children in each year since 2005.

Lynne Featherstone: The information is not available in the form requested. A person may be barred by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) on the basis of an automatic barring offence, or following discretionary consideration of criminal offences or relevant information provided by employers. Information about the number of people barred on the basis of the offence type is not recorded in a readily retrievable format and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) began making barring decisions under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 on 20 January 2009. The following table shows the total number of people placed on the ISA children’s barred list under the automatic barring procedure. Approximately 80% of all automatic barring cases received by the ISA relate to sexual offences.
	
		
			 Time period People automatically placed on the children’s barred list Number of those people who remain barred today 
			 20 January 2009 to 31 December 2009 3,962 3,728 
			 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 12,533 11,484 
			 1 January 2011 to 15 November 2011 11,153 10,692 
		
	
	The difference between the figures in the two columns reflects the adjustment for the number of cases where the person has been removed following representations to the ISA, reviews or appeals.
	The following table shows the total number of people who, having been placed on the ISA children’s barred list via the discretionary procedure in the year shown, remain on that list.
	
		
			 Time period Number of people 
			 20 January 2009 to 31 December 2009 25 
			 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 181 
			 1 January 2011 to 15 November 2011 168 
		
	
	Prior to 20 January 2009, decisions to bar individuals from working with children were taken by the then Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, the right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls), under section 142 of the Education Act 2002, via the ‘list 99’ system. The data on the number of people barred in each of those years specifically because of their convictions for sexual offences are not available. However, successive Secretaries of State reported to the House on the number of people on list 99, as set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Date of statement Date to which figure relates Number of people on list 99 (1) 
			 19 January 2006 (2)— (3)4,045 
			 28 February 2007 27 February 2007 4,921 
			 17 March 2008 13 March 2008 8,036 
			 20 January 2009 19 January 2009 12,992 
			 (1) Cumulative. (2) Not specified, but shortly before the statement. (3) Including 513 people added to the list in 2005 
		
	
	In the same period, the Secretary of State was also responsible for barring people from work in certain child care positions under the Protection of Children Act 1999 (‘PoCA’). Inclusion on that list led to automatic inclusion in list 99, so the above figures include all those barred under PoCA.

Southern Investigations

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on whether any (a) serving and (b) former police officers have worked in any capacity for the company formerly known as Southern Investigations.

Nick Herbert: This information is not held centrally.

Stalking

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of good practice in respect of tackling stalking by police forces (a) nationwide and (b) in other EU member states.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office is working with the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service, and specialist organisations to ensure that best practice guidance on the investigation and prosecution of stalking cases is disseminated, including through four regional events to be held in November and December 2011.
	We have committed in the Government's Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan, to learn from how the fixated threat assessment centres (FTAC) methods of investigation of stalking cases could be applied to mainstream policing. We have also committed to learn from the pioneering work taking place in Melbourne, Australia to tackle stalking and will work with FTAC to consider how this approach might be applied in England and Wales.
	The Government have not undertaken an assessment of good practice by other EU member states. However, as part of the Home Office consultation on stalking (launched on 14 November 2011) we are seeking views on how we can protect victims of stalking more effectively. The consultation incorporates a number of issues, including current legislation and how stalking is tackled in other jurisdictions. The consultation will close on 5 February 2012.

TRANSPORT

Air Travel Organisers’ Licence

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential effects on competition in the provision of travel services arising from her proposed reforms to the ATOL scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 21 November 2011
	An impact assessment was published alongside the ATOL Reform consultation document.
	The assessment suggested that the proposed reforms were not expected to limit the ability of businesses to compete with each other. However, it was recognised that some in the travel trade believe that they would be competitively disadvantaged if airline holiday sales were excluded from ATOL.
	A revised impact assessment will be published when a final decision on the reforms consulted on is announced shortly. The revised assessment will incorporate relevant information from responses to the consultation.

Aviation: Security

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) senior officials in her Department have had with (i) airport operators and (ii) airline companies at which border checks were discussed in the last 12 months.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 15 November 2011
	Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/ministerial-transparency/#meetings
	Airport operators and airline companies have raised passenger facilitation aspects of border controls with departmental officials on a number of occasions over the last 12 months, not least in the South East Airports Taskforce, which I chaired, and in the regular Facilitation Stakeholders Forum, which is chaired by officials.

Aviation: Snow and Ice

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness amongst travellers of their rights when flights are cancelled due to winter weather.

Theresa Villiers: The Government expect air carriers and tour operators to honour their obligations to passengers under EU Regulation 261/2004 on denied boarding, cancellation and delay, and under the package travel directive 90/314, and to look after their passengers during times of adverse weather conditions.
	The Civil Aviation Authority provides guidance on their website notifying air travellers of their rights when flights are delayed or cancelled and is the UK's complaint handler.

Aviation: Standards

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department's Sustainable Aviation Policy Framework will promote competition and choice to improve the passenger experience.

Theresa Villiers: The Government wants to see a successful aviation sector which facilitates economic growth and addresses its environmental impacts. We will issue a Sustainable Framework for UK Aviation for public consultation in spring 2012. We are also reforming the economic regulation of airports to put passengers at the heart of the regulatory regime and to support investment in our airports.

Bus Services

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Government's response to the Transport Committee's Eighth Report of Session 2010-12, Bus services after the Spending Review, published with the Committee's Ninth Report of Session 2010-12, HC 1550, when her Department will publish the result of its work with the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers on collating information in respect of tendered bus services across England.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport is working with the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers to agree how information in respect of tendered bus services is collated, and the nature and timing of any future publication of those data.

Design Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what contracts her Department has awarded for design services since May 2010; and what information her Department holds on the location of such companies;
	(2)  how much her Department has spent on design in respect of (a) logos, (b) buildings, (c) advertising, (d) stationery and (e) campaigns in the last year for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The information is as follows:
	Design contracts
	Since May 2010, the Department for Transport, including its seven executive agencies, has awarded the following visual design contracts for communications media.
	
		
			 Contract title Value (£) Supplier 
			 THINK! Road Safety secondary education website design (technical and visual design and build/delivery) 52,000 EdComms 
			 THINK! Road Safety primary education website design amendments 2,315 EdComms 
			 SHARP Motorcycle Safety website design amendments 750 EdComms 
			 Blue Badge Scheme logo design for information pack and workshops for local authorities 1,200 Domarn Ltd 
			 Maritime Coastguard Agency Annual Report Design 1,410 Chalk and Ward 
			 Safety Leaflet Design 752 Rima Design 
			 Safety Leaflet Design 140 Rima Design 
			 Questionnaire Design 282 Rima Design 
			 Safety Leaflet Design 552 Spy Design 
		
	
	All companies are London based except Chalk and Ward which is based in Devon.
	Design  c osts
	In respect of design costs in last year for which figures are available, in the financial year 2010-11 the Department for Transport, including its seven executive agencies, spent £1,200 on logo design. There was no expenditure on the design of stationery in 2010-11.
	Spend on design in respect of advertising, campaigns and buildings is not separately recorded from other costs on buildings, advertising and campaigns and this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in her Department received a pay rise other than by promotion in the last two years; and what the average increase was in each such year.

Norman Baker: The following table shows how many employees in the Department for Transport and its seven executive agencies received a pay rise other than by promotion in the last two years, and what the average increase was in each such year.
	
		
			  Number of increases Average increase (£) 
			 2010 13,064 664 
			 2011 10,996 584 
		
	
	Senior civil service (SCS) pay has been frozen since 2009. Employees outside the SCS in DfT(C) and six of the executive agencies entered a two-year pay freeze in 2010, and those in the Highways Agency entered the pay freeze in 2011.
	Employees on full-time equivalent earnings of £21,000 and under are eligible for a consolidated pay increase of at least £250. In addition, employees below the SCS with a contractual entitlement remain eligible for progression payments and this is reflected in the table.

Disability Aids: Visual Impairment

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the merits of introducing a minimum eyesight requirement for (a) users of powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters and (b) pedal cyclists; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: As part of the Department for Transport’s review of the use of mobility vehicles, I have asked my officials to undertake further work with transport operators, the mobility vehicles industry and user groups on a range of issues, including a possible minimum eyesight requirement for mobility vehicle users and incentives for them to meet these requirements. No final decisions have been made.
	Further details are in my recent announcement in response to parliamentary questions from the hon. Member for Bury South (Mr Lewis) on 26 October 2011, Official Report, column 249W, and my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke) on 27 October 2011, Official Report, column 284W.
	There are no plans to require cyclists to meet a minimum eyesight requirement.

Driving: Licensing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she has taken to increase competition in the provision of identity photographs for driving licences and passports.

Michael Penning: Competition in the provision of identity photographs for driving licences has been increased through the introduction of a range of service channels. Customers wishing to obtain a driving licence can choose from three channels to make their application:
	a paper application, which has to include a passport size photograph supplied from any source (self-produced, and printed professional photographer or automatic booth);
	a web-based application service which can be used provided the motorist has a recent, valid passport record held by the Identity and Passport Service on their database. In this case, the customer can choose to have the existing passport photograph sent automatically to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency via a secure electronic link, avoiding the need for a new photograph to be supplied; or
	for photocard driving licence renewal applications only (since 2009), a post office service that captures a digital photograph and confirms personal details at the counter before transmitting the transaction securely to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
	In relation to the provision of photographs in support of passport applications, I understand from the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) discussions with the photographic industry have taken place for over 10 years, with both individual suppliers and trade bodies such as the Photo Marketing Association International. The aim of this activity has been to ensure the widest possible circulation of its specific photo requirements and standards to allow the maximum number of suppliers in the market to be able to offer a compliant service to its customers.

Driving: Licensing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many notifications of attendance on a detoxification programme the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received from driving licence holders in the last three years; how many licences have been revoked following such notification; and what was the length of ban for each of these.

Michael Penning: Information on how many notifications of attendance on a detoxification programme or the number of driving licences that have been revoked following a notification of attendance on a detoxification programme or the length of ban for each of these is not held.

Emergencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent staff work on the transport workstream of the Capabilities Programme; and what the staffing level was in each of the last 10 quarters;
	(2)  who the lead Minister in her Department is for the transport workstream of the Capabilities Programme;
	(3)  what the budget was for the transport workstream of the Capabilities Programme in each year since 2005; and what the budget will be during the comprehensive spending review period.

Justine Greening: Work on the Capabilities Programme has been carried out within the budgetary provision for work on transport security and contingency planning. The programme does not have a specific budgetary allocation.
	Varying numbers of staff from across the Department and its agencies have contributed to the work of the Capabilities Programme over the years. Information on the overall numbers that are or have been involved is not held. But of those in my Department currently involved in this work as part of their duties, the equivalent of one full-time staff member is engaged in the transport work-stream.
	I lead on this policy area.

Halton Curve

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with local authorities in Cheshire in respect of the Halton Curve.

Theresa Villiers: We have had no recent discussions with local authorities in Cheshire in respect of the Halton Curve.

Halton Curve

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has had made of the viability of the Halton Curve.

Theresa Villiers: Merseytravel Passenger Transport Executive carried out an assessment of the viability of the Halton Curve in 2009. This concluded that three of the four options studied had benefit cost ratios of between 1.5 and 1.9 but would require ongoing annual subsidy of between £1.1 million and £2.1 million.

Large Goods Vehicles

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which agencies will be responsible for monitoring the trial of longer semi-trailers for heavy goods vehicles; and if regular updates will be published.

Michael Penning: The Vehicle Certification Agency will have a role in managing and granting Vehicle Special Orders for vehicles used in the trial and in verifying that the longer semi-trailers comply with the relevant technical requirements of Construction and Use and other Regulations.
	The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency will have a role in plating and testing the semi-trailers, and in enforcing compliance with traffic regulations.
	The main responsibility for monitoring will lie with an independent contractor. The contractor's four-monthly monitoring reports and annual reports on the trial will be published on the Department's website.

Large Goods Vehicles

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has made an assessment of the safety implications for cyclists of the trial of longer semi-trailers for heavy goods vehicles.

Michael Penning: The revised Impact Assessment published with the Government's Report on the Consultation into longer semi-trailers does not disaggregate the safety risk between different categories of road user.

Motorways: Speed Limits

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent analysis her Department conducted of any potential change in the level of (a) fatalities, (b) serious injuries, (c) slight injuries and (d) carbon dioxide emissions attributable to an increase in the motorway speed limit to 80 mph.

Michael Penning: The potential effects on casualties and an estimate of carbon emissions will be included in the assessment of all the principal effects of raising the national speed limit on motorways. We will include these estimates as part of the documentation for the planned consultation.

Parking: Westminster

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) she, (b) her Ministers and (c) officials in her Department have had with Westminster council on parking changes; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: holding answer 14 November 2011
	Neither Ministers nor officials at the Department for Transport have had recent discussions with Westminster city council on parking charges.
	The setting of parking charges in local authority car parks and in on-street parking bays is a matter for the local authority, in accordance with powers available. to it in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The Department's operational guidance to local authorities, “Parking Policy and Enforcement”, makes clear that it is for each local authority to decide what to charge for parking and the decision should reflect the objectives of their Local Transport Plan. The revenue that local authorities raise from on-street parking charges must be used in accordance with section 55 (as amended) of the RTRA 1984, which limits the use of surplus funds to transport related objectives or for environmental purposes.

Ports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans her Department has to review the 2002 Project Appraisal Framework for Ports.

Michael Penning: The Department intends to complete a review of the Project Appraisal Framework for Ports during 2012.

Ports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Government's response to the Transport Committee's Fifth Report of Session 2009-10, on the Proposal for a National Policy Statement on Ports, published with the Committee's Fifth Special Report of Session 2010-12, HC 1598, when her Department will commission new forecasts into port demand.

Michael Penning: The Department intends to commission new forecasts in the near future.

Railways: Overcrowding

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of future overcrowding levels on the Greater Anglia rail franchise when Abellio becomes the franchise holder.

Theresa Villiers: Crowding on the Greater Anglia franchise has the potential to increase in line with growth in commuter numbers, particularly on Great Eastern inner suburban and West Anglia outer suburban services.
	However, the trains in these service groups on which crowding is liable to worsen are all ones that Abellio plans to run at the maximum length that the infrastructure will allow.

Railways: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to ensure greater funding for development and modernisation of Shrewsbury railway station.

Theresa Villiers: A scheme to provide improvements at Shrewsbury station is included in the National Stations Improvement Programme and the proposed works are planned to start next year. They will deliver better passenger waiting facilities, a new customer information point, refurbished toilets and additional customer information screens.
	Shrewsbury station has benefitted from investment over the past three years. These benefits include a new fully accessible lift, upgraded signalling to deliver increased capacity, a new customer information system and major repairs to the canopy at the front of the station.

Road Traffic Control

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with (a) the National Union of Journalists and (b) proprietors of local newspapers on her proposals to amend guidelines requiring local authorities to publish temporary and permanent traffic regulation orders in local newspapers.

Norman Baker: The Secretary of State for Transport has not had discussions with the National Union of Journalists or proprietors of local newspapers on the proposals to amend guidelines requiring local authorities to publish temporary and permanent traffic regulation orders in local newspapers. The Department will be going to full public consultation on this matter shortly, providing anyone with an interest with the opportunity to respond.

Roads: Accidents

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents have occurred at Junction 2 of the M54 since December 2010.

Michael Penning: There were no recorded accidents at Junction 2 of the M54 between December 2010 and the end of March 2011, the latest date for which information is available.

Speed Limits: Association of Chief Police Officers

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the guidance issued by Association of Chief Police Officers that 20 mph limits and zones should not routinely be considered for enforcement.

Norman Baker: The Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) guidance, while indicating 20 mph limits and zones should not routinely be considered for enforcement, does indicate that some enforcement may be appropriate.
	The Department for Transport is planning to revise and reissue its guidance about speed limits in urban areas with the aim of increasing flexibility for local authorities. As part of that process, planned for 2012, it is liaising with ACPO on enforcement.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects to announce the award of the Thameslink rolling stock contract. [R]

Theresa Villiers: The Department expects to reach financial close on the Thameslink rolling stock contract in the new year.

Transport: Passengers

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the administrative cost was of each passenger transport executive in 2010-11.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not hold this information. Such information can be found in the annual accounts that each passenger transport executive is required to publish.

Transport: Snow and Ice

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what extra funding she has made available in respect of winter resilience of the transport system;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken to prepare transport infrastructure for extreme weather in the last 12 months.

Norman Baker: The Department has been working with public and private sector organisations across the modes of transport to improve winter resilience.
	This includes through refining and promoting operational co-ordination and best practice, as in the ports sector, and targeted funding, as in the £200 million allocated to councils to address road damage caused by last year's sever winter weather or the development of a strategic salt reserve, currently valued at £27 million.
	While we have to acknowledge there may be some transport disruption in the event of severe winter weather, the actions taken by the Department and transport operators will ensure that the country's transport systems are better equipped to cope with them.

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency is in each year of the current spending review period; and what its budget was in each of the preceding five years.

Michael Penning: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's accounts and future budgets are set out in the following table.
	
		
			 VOSA 2005-06 to 2014-15 
			 £ million 
			  Annual Accounts Budget Plan 
			  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Total Income 151.9 165.5 176.4 184.4 190.2 187.0 182.4 180.6 179.0 177.7 
			            
			 Expenditure (160.3) (184.1) (193.1) (197.7) (204.8) (179.3) (177.5) (173.7) (172.0) (168.6) 
			            
			 Surplus/(Deficit) (8.4) (18.5) (16.6) (13.3) (14.6) 7.7 5.0 7.0 7.1 9.1

WORK AND PENSIONS

Atos Healthcare

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in the list of continuing media education topics available to Atos professionals.

Chris Grayling: There are no current plans to include a module on inflammatory bowel disease in the list of continuing medical education topics available to Atos Healthcare professionals. However, all health care professionals have access to an evidence based repository which contains information about these conditions.

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the outcome is of the review by the Major Projects Authority of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's major change programme to deliver a new statutory maintenance scheme.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the outcome is of the review by the Major Projects Authority of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's major change programme to deliver a new statutory maintenance scheme.
	A strategic assessment review of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission Change Programme by the Major Projects Authority took place during July 2011 as part of a planned assurance process. Their brief was to review the outcomes and objectives for the programme and confirm that they make the necessary contribution to the overall strategy of the organisation and its senior management. The review team provided their report with a series of recommendations and I can confirm that these are being actively followed up by the Commission.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many cases are being dealt with by the Child Support Agency where there is no current assessment but where there are arrears of less than a year;
	(2)  in how many cases being dealt with by the Child Support Agency there is no current assessment and there are arrears to be collected which are between one and three years old.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	; and
	How many cases being dealt with by the Child Support Agency where there is no current assessment and there are arrears to be collected which are between one and three years old.
	At June 2011 there were 14,700 cases with no current assessment with arrears of less than a year old and 38,400 cases with no current assessment with arrears between one year and three years old. Cases with no current assessment value have been defined as cases with a missing assessment value. This will therefore include cases that should not have a current assessment because the case has been closed as well as those for which the assessment is currently in progress.
	These figures are for cases with arrears administered under 2003 rules on the Child Support Agency's computer system. It is not possible to break down arrears by age for cases administered under 1993 rules.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Maintenance

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases are being dealt with by the Child Support Agency where there is no current assessment but where there are arrears to be collected between (a) three and five, (b) five and 10, (c) 10 and 15 and (d) over 15 years old.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases are being dealt with by the Child Support Agency where there is no current assessment but where there are arrears to be collected between (a) three and five (b) five and 10 (c) 10 and 15 and (d) over 15 years old.
	The information requested is not available in the specific time frames requested. However, the information which is available at June 2011 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Age of arrears Number of cases with no current assessment with arrears 
			 3 to 4 years 30,700 
			 4+ years 32,600 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. These figures are for cases with arrears administered under 2003 rules on the Child Support Agency's computer system. It is not possible to break down arrears by age for cases administered under 1993 rules. 3. Cases with no current assessment value have been defined as cases with a missing assessment value. Please note that this will therefore include cases that should not have a current assessment because the case has been closed as well as those for which the assessment is currently in progress. 
		
	
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Maintenance

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of cases within the live and assessed caseload of the Child Support Agency are under one year old.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of cases within the live and assessed caseload of the Child Support Agency are under one year old.
	At June 2011 the Child Support Agency was dealing with 1,143,400 cases. Of these, 79,500 or seven percent were under one year old.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Disability Living Allowance

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children with autism were refused the mobility component of disability living allowance in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many were successful in appealing this decision.

Maria Miller: We are unable to provide information on how many children with autism were refused the mobility component of disability living allowance as claims are not made for separately for mobility or care components but for disability living allowance as a whole and people may be awarded one or both components. Only claims which receive an award of benefit have a main disabling condition recorded against them.

Learning Disability

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to increase the level of employment among people with learning disabilities.

Maria Miller: The Government are committed to ensuring that all disabled people, including people with learning disabilities, have the opportunities, chances and support that they need to get a job and remain in employment.
	For example, we launched the Work programme, on 10 June 2011, which is the biggest single Welfare to Work programme providing more personalised back-to-work support for unemployed people, including disabled people.
	For disabled people with more complex needs which cannot be met through the Work programme, they can access Work Choice, which provides tailored support to help disabled people who face the most complex barriers to employment, find and stay in work and ultimately help them progress into unsupported employment, where it is appropriate for the individual. Work Choice contracted providers aim to help around 9,000 disabled people into work per annum. In addition to the contracted provision, Remploy aims to deliver 7,500 job outcomes through Work Choice in 2011-12. Support can also be provided through Access to Work, Remploy and residential training.
	In December 2010, the Government asked Liz Sayce, the chief executive of the disability organisation RADAR to undertake an independent review of specialist employment support for disabled people, specifically Remploy, residential training colleges and the Access to Work programme. The Government's response and a separate public consultation was launched on 11 July 2011. I welcomed the central theme of the review, that resources for supporting disabled people into employment should be focused on disabled people themselves rather than on specific institutions. The consultation closed on 17 October 2011. We are currently analysing responses and will produce a summary of responses as soon as practicably possible.
	Following the recommendations of the Sayce review, I have established the Inter-ministerial Group on Disability Employment. The group has set as its aim ensuring coherent working across Government so that meeting their full potential in the workplace is seen as a normal expectation of disabled people and that they receive the support they need to achieve this. On the group Ministers are represented from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Department for Education, Department for Health, Department for Communities and Local Government, Ministry of Defence, Treasury and Department for Transport and I have written to Ministers in the Scottish and Welsh Governments to invite their participation in discussions which concern devolved policies,
	DWP is also working with Department for Education through the SEN Green Paper to look at how we can improve transition from education to work, so that young people with special educational needs (including learning disabilities) are better prepared and supported when looking for employment.

Mobility

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with (a) local authorities and (b) representatives of state-funded care providers on overlap of personal mobility funding in state-funded residential care; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: When we announced that we would not remove the mobility component of disability living allowance from people in care homes in 2012 we said we would review the position in personal independence payment.
	My officials and I have met numerous organisations representing disabled people, visited care homes and had discussions with disabled people as part of the evidence gathering exercise on mobility provision in care homes. My officials also talked to a number of local authorities and many individuals and organisations wrote to us to give us their views.
	We are now considering the findings of the recently published review into provision for the mobility needs of care home residents by Lord Low, before we announce our final decision.

Personal Independence Payment

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people with autism will be expected to undergo a face-to-face assessment process during an application for the personal independence payment.

Maria Miller: Claims in disability living allowance are currently, for the most part, based on a self-completion questionnaire. Additional medical evidence is gathered in only half of cases and an assessment by a health professional carried out in only a fraction.
	We are determined to change this in personal independence payment. We think that a face-to-face consultation with a trained independent assessor should be a key part of the assessment process for most individuals. This will allow an in-depth look at the individual's condition to ensure they have support in place that really reflects their needs.
	Face-to-face consultations may not be appropriate in every case. These decisions need to be taken on a case-by-case basis.

Personal Independence Payment

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will amend the draft criteria and descriptions for the personal independence payment to reflect barriers to participation and independence.

Maria Miller: The proposals for the assessment criteria were developed in collaboration with a group of disabled people, disabled people's organisations and other independent experts. The activities included were chosen to provide a more holistic assessment of the impact of impairments, whether physical, mental or cognitive.
	They are not intended to cover all the areas of everyday activity or all the activities where disabled people face barriers or cost. Doing so would create a very lengthy and complicated assessment. They are instead intended to, as a group, act as an overall proxy for the impact of impairments on an individual’s ability to participate in society, allowing us to identify individuals with the greatest need.
	I am aware that Scope recently produced a report focusing on the first draft of our assessment criteria. Although we have a shared objective with Scope of reforming disability living allowance, ensuring support is targeted at those who need it most, we disagree on how to do this. We continue to be concerned that trying to look at every barrier or cost that a disabled person might face will lead to subjective decisions, inconsistent outcomes and a more complex, expensive administration process. These are all things we want to avoid in personal independence payment.
	A revised draft of the assessment criteria was published on 14 November. The criteria have been refined considerably since the initial draft published in May, and this is in large part as a result of feedback from disabled people and disability organisations. We believe that the revised assessment will provide a fair and accurate reflection of individuals' need, targeting support where it is needed most.

Universal Credit

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what reporting mechanism he plans to use for the results of the direct payment pilots for universal credit;
	(2)  when he plans to commence the direct payment pilots for universal credit.

Chris Grayling: The Department has announced that we will establish about six small-scale demonstration projects of the direct payment of housing benefit in the social rented sector. The demonstration projects will test some key elements of social sector housing support under universal credit while protecting social landlords' financial position. The demonstration projects will include:
	direct payments to tenants being the default;
	adopting the payment frequency envisaged under universal credit;
	safeguards to pay the landlord directly where necessary.
	We will run the demonstration projects in about six local authority areas from June 2012 to June 2013, with a five-month lead in starting in January 2012.
	The design of the demonstration projects and the selection of volunteer areas is currently under consideration, more information can be found on the DWP website along with a Q&A.
	The areas and volunteers will be announced in December.
	The Department is currently tendering for an evaluation of the demonstration projects. The precise form will depend upon the resources that are available, but we anticipate that it will include independent research examining the effects on different types of landlords and households in a range of areas across Great Britain. The results of the evaluation will be published in accordance with the Department's guidelines on commissioned research.

Winter Fuel Payments

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) England, (b) Swindon borough and (c) Swindon North constituency who will receive the winter fuel payment in each of the next three years.

Steve Webb: Projections for the numbers of people receiving winter fuel payments are not produced below the Great Britain level.
	The number of people receiving winter fuel payments is expected to reduce slightly each winter due to the rise in the qualifying age linked to women's state pension age.
	However, if the England, Swindon borough and the Swindon north constituency share of cases in 2010-11 were maintained in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 the number of people projected to receive winter fuel payments would be as given in the following tables:
	
		
			 Table 1: Projected winter fuel payment recipients in England 
			  T housand 
			 2011-12 10,784 
			 2012-13 10,675 
			 2013-14 10,576 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Projected winter fuel payment recipients in Swindon borough 
			  R ounded to the nearest 100 
			 2011-12 36,700 
			 2012-13 36,300 
			 2013-14 36,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Projected winter fuel payment recipients in Swindon north constituency 
			  Rounded to the nearest 100 
			 2011-12 19,400 
			 2012-13 19,200 
			 2013-14 19,000 
			 Source: Budget 2011 forecasts and DWP statistical data.

DEFENCE

Adam Werritty

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Adam Werritty was present during any meeting where the Trident replacement programme was discussed.

Philip Hammond: He was not.

Armed Forces

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will estimate the total annual wage cost for service personnel from the 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support) after it includes 34 Field Squadron and 53 Field Squadron from the 25 Engineer Regiment;
	(2)  what the (a) required and (b) actual strength is of (i) 39 Engineer Regiment and (ii) the (A) 34 Field Squadron and (B) 53 Field Squadron of the 25 Engineer Regiment.

Andrew Robathan: The total estimated wage costs for 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support), including 34 and 53 Field Squadrons, is approximately £28 million based on expenditure over the past 12 months.
	The required and actual strength of the specified units as at 15 November 2011 was as follows:
	
		
			  At 15 November  2011 
			  Required strength Actual strength 
			 39 Engineer Regiment 509 565 
			 34 Field Squadron 167 176 
			 53 Field Squadron 170 188 
			 Total 846 929

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support his Department is providing to service people to access affordable housing.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence continues to support the Armed Forces Home Ownership Scheme pilot. We also encourage service personnel to explore the three main products available from the Government to help purchase a property. These are First Buy, New Build Home Buy and Home Buy Direct. Service personnel now have the highest priority for access to First Buy schemes.
	We are working with mortgage lenders and their professional bodies to develop guidance for their dealings with members of the armed forces, while assisting personnel to enter into the UK housing market by offering a long service advance of pay to those eligible.
	Changes have also been introduced so that our armed forces and former service personnel should not be disadvantaged when applying for social housing. For example, when service personnel can establish a local connection with the area in which they are serving, this will give parity of treatment for service leavers to access social housing. Key worker status has also been extended to service leavers to enable them to access the scheme 12 months after discharge.
	The Minister for Housing and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), made a key pledge on 11 November 2011, to our service personnel to give them the support they need—whether buying their first home or applying for social housing.
	The Joint Service Housing Advice Office provides service personnel and their families with information and advice on the increasingly complex range of civilian housing options.

Armed Forces: North Yorkshire

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the military establishment will be in Thirsk, Melton and Filey in the next five years.

Andrew Robathan: It is currently too early to say at this time the details of what the military establishment may be in Thirsk, Milton and Filey in the next five years.

Armed Forces: Officers

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many four-star officers were appointed in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The following table shows the numbers of officers who were promoted to four-star in each year since 2000:
	
		
			 Promoted to four-star in year to Naval Service Army RAF 
			 31 March 2000 0 0 0 
			 31 March 2001 2 1 1 
			 31 March 2002 2 0 1 
			 31 March 2003 1 1 1 
			 31 March 2004 0 0 2 
			 31 March 2005 1 3 0 
			 31 March 2006 1 0 1 
			 31 March 2007 0 1 2 
			 31 March 2008 0 2 0 
			 31 March 2009 0 0 0 
			 31 March 2010 1 2 2 
			 31 March 2011 0 2 1

Armed Forces: Children

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to ensure that UK-supported military training in (a) Ethiopia, (b) Uruguay and (c) Ukraine does not include training of children under (i) 16 and (ii) 18 years.

Andrew Robathan: UK-supported military training in Ethiopia is directed at senior members of the Army (at least major rank). Therefore, this precludes any involvement of children.
	In Uruguayan law, an individual cannot join the armed forces unless they are at least 18-years-old. Consequently any UK supported military training is targeted at individuals above this age.
	Ukraine's law stipulates a minimum recruitment age of 18 years for both conscripts and contract soldiers. Officer cadets may join at 17 years but are required to complete a minimum of four years' training before joining their first unit. Ukrainian personnel receiving UK-supported military training are required to have several years' experience, and are typically non-commissioned or commissioned officers. The UK does not train Ukrainian officer cadets.

AWE

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether he expects development of a new systems engineering facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment to go ahead;
	(2)  what his most recent estimate is of the (a) cost and (b) projected in-service date for each of the new build projects in the Atomic Weapons Establishment Site Development Context Plan 2005-15.

Peter Luff: The projects included in the Atomic Weapons Establishment Site Development Context Plan 2005-15 are shown in the table. The functions of the projects given in the table correlate with the headings in the Site Development Plan.
	Where applicable, the names of projects are indicated where they have been finalised. Costs not shown are being withheld as their disclosure would be likely to prejudice the Department's commercial interests.
	Projected in-service dates are shown in bandings to avoid prejudice to national security and/or Defence.
	One of the projects included in the table is a systems engineering facility. This is one of the projects where the decision has been taken to meet the requirement without the need for new buildings.
	
		
			 Project name Function Cost (£ million) 
			 2010-11 prices   
			 Completed projects   
			 IT server buildings (two projects) Computer/communications 32 
			 New office accommodation Phase 1-Gemini (two buildings) Office and business support accommodation 78 
			 Modular accommodation (five buildings) Office and business support accommodation 27 
			 Car park/landscaping Office and business support/environmental 3 
			    
			 Outturn Prices   
			 Projected in-service period 2011-15   
			 Orion Laser Testing/research 183 
			 Small components interim-Leo Manufacturing/production 16 
			 Building for high performance computer-Orchard Computing/communications — 
			 High explosives fabrication-Circinus Manufacturing/production 231 
			    
			 Projected in-service period 2016-20   
			 Warhead assembly/disassembly-Mensa Manufacturing/production 734 
			 Uranium components-Pegasus Manufacturing/production 634 
			 Laboratory-Octans Testing/research — 
			    
			 Projects under consideration following SDSR publication   
			 High explosives climatic trials Manufacturing/production — 
			 Chemical processing-Astra Manufacturing/production — 
			 High explosives assembly for trials Testing/research — 
			 Small components-Libra Testing/research — 
			    
			 Projects not taken forward where alternative solutions found   
			 New office accommodation Phase 2 Office and business support accommodation — 
			 New office accommodation Phase 3 Office and business support accommodation — 
			 Systems engineering Manufacturing/production — 
			 Hydrodynamics-Hydrus Testing/research — 
			 Landscaping Environmental —

BAE Systems

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Hyndburn of 14 November 2011, Official Report, column 574, and to the answer from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Fylde of 1 November 2011, Official Report, column 758, on BAE Systems, whether the job losses at BAE Systems are due to a slow down in the Eurofighter programme or as a result of a slowing down in UK-US defence orders in the F-35 programme.

Peter Luff: BAE Systems issued a statement on 27 September 2011 which attributed the job losses to a number of factors, including a slower than planned increase in the F-35 production rates and an agreement by the Eurofighter Typhoon partner nations to a request from industry to slow Eurofighter Typhoon delivery rates in order to protect their industrial capacities to service anticipated export orders. The statement also acknowledged the need to reduce costs to ensure that the company remained competitive both in the UK and internationally. For its part, the UK Government are energetically promoting exports of the Eurofighter Typhoon which will help maintain highly skilled jobs in the UK defence and aerospace industry.

Building Stability Overseas

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his Department's Building Stability Overseas strategy, which countries his Department has identified as priorities for early warning efforts.

Andrew Robathan: The Building Stability Overseas Strategy (BSOS) was published jointly by the Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development in July 2011 and all three Secretaries of State announced they would share joint responsibility for its implementation. The strategy includes a new approach to turning early warning into early action. By focusing on early warning we will be able to improve our ability to anticipate instability and potential triggers for conflict thus increasing our opportunity to take fast, appropriate and effective action where necessary and where UK strategic interests are at stake.
	Early warning processes have been improved by drawing up a watch list of fragile states comprised of countries that have a high risk of instability and are also of high interest to the UK. These states will be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that all appropriate action is being taken to support the aims of the BSOS. The strategy makes clear that the watch list is internal and both the watch list and the early warning report draw on a range of internal HMG reporting and cannot therefore be published for security reasons. However, the BSOS is open about the criteria used to select countries for attention.

HMS Poseidon

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 24 June 2009, Official Report, columns 967-8W, on HMS Poseidon, what information his Department holds on the circumstances in which HMS Poseidon was salvaged by the government of China; if he will publish the text of any (a) representations made to the Chinese Government and (b) replies received in respect of the (i) recovery and (ii) disposal of the remains and personal effects of the crew members of the submarine; if he will make it his policy vigorously to pursue this matter on behalf of the families of the deceased crew members; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence takes matters concerning UK military maritime graves very seriously. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defence of the People's Republic of China were formally asked in 2009 to provide details of the salvage of HMS Poseidon, particularly with respect to the remains of the dead servicemen. Following inquiries, the Chinese authorities replied that the location of any remnants of HMS Poseidon is unknown and that in the course of the salvage no remains of any sailors were found inside the submarine.
	In May 2011 the British embassy in Beijing again raised this matter with the Chinese authorities, who reiterated their previous position and confirmed that a full investigation took place in 2009. It is likely that the Chinese authorities have been constrained by incomplete records, as the salvage occurred during the Cultural Revolution. The Chinese authorities have agreed to share with the UK any further information on this subject that may come to light.

Met Office

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the capital receipts arising from the transfer of the Met Office.

Andrew Robathan: Defence Ministers have had no such discussions.

Military Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many qualified fast jet pilots were available for active service at each year end since 2008.

Andrew Robathan: The following table gives information for the number of Royal Air Force and Royal Navy fast jet pilots who were qualified and current on a front-line fast-jet type as at 1 April for the last three years.
	
		
			  Royal Navy and Royal Marines Royal Air Force 
			 1 April 2009 20 290 
			 1 April 2010 20 260 
			 1 April 2011 0 200 
		
	
	The information has been rounded to the nearest 10.
	The number of pilots available for active service will vary on a daily basis, for reasons including other work duties, sickness or annual leave. Retrieving such data would require a manual search of individual pilots' records and so this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The reduction in fast-jet pilot numbers reflects the withdrawal from service of the Harrier and Tornado F3 aircraft.

Military Bases

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much it will cost to convert (a) RAF Cottesmore and (b) RAF Kinloss into Army bases; and how long each such conversion will take.

Andrew Robathan: It is currently too early to say at this time how long it will take, or how much it will cost to convert RAF Cottesmore and RAF Kinloss into Army bases.

Military Bases: Radioactive Waste

Gordon Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date officials from his Department most recently visited the site where radiation tests are being carried out at Dalgety bay.

Andrew Robathan: Ministry of Defence officials most recently visited Dalgety bay on 27 September 2011.

Trident

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Trident nuclear weapon system and its successor was discussed by his predecessor in Washington (a) between 21 and 22 September 2010, (b) between 22 and 25 May 2011 and (c) between 31 July and 3 August 2011.

Philip Hammond: They were not.

World War II: Military Decorations

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has found evidence in the archives of the HD Committee that awarding an official campaign star or clasp for the Arctic convoys was (a) considered and rejected or (b) not considered when campaign awards were determined at the end of the Second World War.

Andrew Robathan: The HD Committee is not a Ministry of Defence body, but contemporary medal papers make it clear that the convoys to north Russia were considered at the time that the qualifying criteria for the WWII campaign Stars and Medals were under discussion.
	From the outset, the qualifying criteria for the proposed Atlantic Star were designed to include recognition of service on the Russian convoys. The regulations for the Atlantic Star specifically allude to the Arctic convoys in the qualifying criteria.
	Accordingly, I have placed a copy of the relevant section in the Library of the House.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Argentina

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has any plans to visit Argentina in an official capacity.

Alan Duncan: I have no current plans to visit Argentina.

Argentina: EU Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on the provision of aid to Argentina by the EU.

Alan Duncan: The EU has allocated €65 million in funding for Argentina through the Development Cooperation Instrument between 2007 and 2013. EU funding for Argentina aims to support reforms to achieve sustainable economic growth, employment and social cohesion. The UK position is that aid spending should target the poorest countries. In the context of the EU, co-operation should take different forms for countries which are already experiencing sustained growth or which have sufficient resources of their own.

Argentina: World Bank

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on the US Administration's decision to oppose new World Bank loans to Argentina.

Alan Duncan: As long as a country is not in arrears to the bank, the UK's position on loans from the World Bank to borrowers such as Argentina is based on the merits of each project, on a case-by-case basis.

Burundi: Overseas Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure that withdrawal of funding to Burundi is managed in a way which does not negatively affect the country's development.

Stephen O'Brien: Although the office will close and bilateral projects will end, DFID will not stop supporting Burundi. From 2012, DFID will concentrate exclusively on supporting Burundi's integration into the EAC through regional funding of TradeMark East Africa's (TMEA) programme in Burundi. DFID will also continue to contribute to multilateral efforts. This includes around 15% in central funding to the EU's work and 14% of World Bank funding in Burundi. The EU and World Bank provided £135 million to Burundi in 2010. DFID is also a major contributor to the UN's Peace-Building Fund, which agreed a new contribution of $9 million for Burundi in 2011.
	Also, the TMEA-funded reform of the Burundi revenue system will in its first full year alone generate over £35 million in additional revenues. This is more than three times the size of the DFID bilateral programme.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Elections

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with (a) diaspora communities, (b) faith groups and (c) civil society groups on the holding of elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Stephen O'Brien: I had a very interesting meeting last week on the Congo with members of the Congo Now coalition, which includes representatives from non-governmental and faith-based organisations. The group raised the need to increase women's participation in politics and elections, support for elections observation and support for elections beyond 2011, particularly for local elections in 2013. The UK is either already supporting or has plans to support all these areas either directly or as a member of the European Union and their electoral observation work. Other than this meeting I have not had any formal direct contact with diaspora communities in the UK.
	The DFID office in Kinshasa is in regular contact with the Congolese Government, civil society organisations (including faith-based organisations) and international agencies, especially the UN, with regards to the elections and to support the process.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Elections

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is providing to the holding of elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Alan Duncan: The UK's support to the electoral process is focused on strengthening the new electoral commission, voter registration, civic education and election security. We will increase the participation, particularly of women and first-time voters, in both voter registration and the elections themselves, by improving understanding of the electoral process.
	Our programme is also helping to develop an independent, well-regulated, more diverse and professional media, which can promote open and issues-based debate in advance of elections. We are supporting elections-related projects implemented by Congolese civil society organisations, through our support to the Civil Society Fund. Along with other donors we are supporting the Congolese police to be able to provide security during the elections, through a focus on communications and applying community policing principles. Complementing this we are assisting the Inspector General Audit and civil society to monitor the role of the police during the elections.
	We have already exceeded one of our operational plan results, with voter registration reaching 32 million, compared to 26 million in 2006, and a 31 million target.
	DFID's contribution to elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is £31 million. This accounts for more than a third of total donor pledges to date.

Equal Opportunities

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps his Department has taken to promote equality of opportunity for employees of his Department.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) has developed a new Equality Framework, which is a strategic approach aimed at meeting the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. The framework aims to improve equal opportunities for all our staff and to minimise the administrative burden to achieving this aim. It has a number of objectives intended to provide a workplace that is representative of all groups and values staff.
	To enable it to promote equality of opportunity for employees DFID annually monitors its work force against targets intended to address previously identified areas of under-representation at all grades in our work force. We offer a range of development opportunities and training with equalities content, open to all our staff including those located overseas.
	More specifically DFID is participating in the work of the Government-appointed Task and Reference groups on disability.

Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many flags his Department (a) owns and (b) maintains; and at what cost to the public purse

Alan Duncan: As from May this year the Union Jack flies all year round outside the Department for International Development in London.
	The Department for International Development's office in East Kilbride, Scotland has six flags consisting of:
	two Union flags that are flown all year round;
	one St Andrew flag that is flown all year round;
	two European Union flags that are flown when directed. These have not been flown since May 2010.
	one Armed Forces day flag that is flown on Armed Forces day and when directed.
	These flags were bought several years ago. There are currently no maintenance costs on these flags.

Judicial Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what applications for judicial review have been made against his Department (a) in the last Parliament and (b) since May 2010; whether each such application (i) succeeded, (ii) failed and (iii) remains pending; what legal costs were incurred by his Department for each such application; in each failed application whether he applied for costs against the applicant and whether they were (A) awarded and (B) paid; whether his Department (1) paid for and (2) offered to pay for the legal costs incurred by each such applicant; and what the total cost to the public purse was of payment of the legal costs for each such applicant.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development has had no applications for judicial review made against it since May 2010 or in the period covering the last Parliament.

Developing Countries: Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what the estimated value to the UK economy is of natural capital in developing countries;
	(2)  how the value of natural capital in developing countries is taken into account when measuring the effectiveness of UK aid;
	(3)  how the UK encourages developing countries to value their natural capital when measuring economic progress.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK is fully committed to supporting initiatives which correct the systematic undervaluation of natural assets in developing countries. The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting both the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study, which seeks to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity, and the World Bank's Wealth Accounting and Valuation (WAVES) initiative, which seeks to enable developing countries to value biodiversity and ecosystem services and to integrate these values in decision making and national accounting.
	DFID's Climate and Environment Assessment mainstreams environmental protection in all of DFID's large programmes. The share of aid which delivers environmental protection is therefore much higher than the share of aid that is directly attributable to biodiversity conservation and eco-systems services.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will work with the Mexican Government during its chairing of the G20 to prioritise climate change adaptation and the reduction of disaster risk in development approaches for the successor to the L'Aquila initiative.

Andrew Mitchell: The Mexican Government have yet to present a formal work plan for its presidency of the G20 next year, so it is not yet clear if climate change adaptation and the reduction of disaster risk will be considered. If these issues are taken up for specific consideration, I would support this. Following this year's humanitarian emergency response review, I have committed to make disaster resilience a core part of DFID's approach in all of our country programmes, integrate disaster resilience into our work on climate change and play a leadership role in promoting this agenda. We will work closely with Mexico as it takes over the presidency.

Developing Countries: Females

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken to provide support for tackling violence against women and children in the context of humanitarian assistance.

Andrew Mitchell: I have made tackling violence against women and girls one of the Department for International Development's four top priorities in our Gender Strategy. Up to 25 of our 28 country offices are either programming or planning to programme in this area. Specific to our humanitarian assistance we address the needs of women and children exposed to risk of violence through our influence over the international community and by ensuring that the UK's own protection programmes in crisis situations address their needs.
	For example, through our core funding to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), we enable their protection work to address the needs of women and children exposed to violence in humanitarian settings. Most recently, in the UK's own response to the crisis in Haiti we ensured that our implementing partners integrated the needs of women and children in their protection programmes, one practical example being providing adequate lighting in camps to make women and children feel safe.

Developing Countries: Food

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken in support of the L'Aquila food security initiative.

Andrew Mitchell: The latest financial year for which we now have finalised UK Statistics on International Development is 2010-11. After two years of our three-year AFSI financial commitment period we have disbursed over 80% of our overall commitment of £1.1 billion through our bilateral programmes and through multilateral channels. We therefore expect to meet our spending commitment in full by the end of the period. We have also played a leading role among AFSI signatories in promoting the adoption of the aid effectiveness principles agreed as part of the AFSI declaration in our approach to work on food security.
	Our support has been instrumental in helping eradicate animal diseases like Rinderpest and roll out crops like orange fleshed sweet potato which, among other benefits, improves the vitamin A status of children. In Ethiopia, UK support to the productive safety net is helping over seven million people escape long term dependency by providing cash for work opportunities which build community infrastructure such as classrooms and access roads. DFID is also attracting new money and partnerships to increase jobs and incomes generated through agricultural investment. In Nigeria DFID is working with the private sector to supply 170,000 households with affordable fertiliser, create 55,000 jobs and generate an additional £4.8 million income. DFID has also scaled up interventions to tackle under-nutrition in 20 million children. By 2012, we will be spending in excess of £12 million on nutrition research—doubling our investment since 2009. Similarly we have doubled our spending on direct interventions (e.g., vitamin A to prevent blindness) from around £40 million in 2009.

Developing Countries: Food

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the L'Aquila food security initiative in (a) increasing food security and (b) reducing malnutrition.

Andrew Mitchell: After two years of our three year AFSI financial commitment period (2009-12) we have disbursed over 80% of the £1.1 billion committed by the UK. We expect to meet our spending commitment in full by the end of 2012 through both our bilateral and multilateral channels. Examples of results that UK funding for food security related activities has helped to achieve include high yielding rice varieties specifically suited to dryland areas now grown by three million households across India; the development of vaccines for East Coast Fever and support for the eradication of Rinderpest—two important diseases of cattle in Africa—which will improve the livelihoods of millions. And in Ethiopia, DFID support is helping 1.2 million people escape long term dependency on food aid by promoting cash for work, which is giving the poorest an income to invest in their farms and send their children to school, and building vital community infrastructure such as water points.
	On malnutrition, along with a number of partner Governments, the Gates Foundation and multilateral agencies, we are supporting the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) initiative—the most promising mechanism for accelerating action to improve nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child's life and have already committed to double our reach through nutrition interventions from 10 million to 20 million children under five years of age.
	The UK is working with other the AFSI signatories to develop robust evaluation process for reviewing the impact of both the AFSI financial commitments and the commitments made to the five aid effectiveness and partnership principles underpinning their efforts.

Developing Countries: Politics and Government

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to his Department's Building Stability Overseas strategy, when he expects the first early warning report to be released.

Alan Duncan: The Building Stability Overseas Strategy explains that the Early Warning Reports are underpinned by all-source analysis. This means they draw on a range of internal Government reporting and cannot therefore be published for national security reasons.

East Africa: Disease Control

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to prevent the spread of disease in refugee camps in East Africa during the rainy season.

Andrew Mitchell: The onset of rains in the drought stricken parts of the East and Horn of Africa has increased the risk of disease outbreaks among weakened populations, particularly in the large refugee camps of Kenya and Ethiopia. The greatest disease risks include cholera, measles and malaria.
	In Somalia the UK has provided measles vaccinations to over 900,000 children to mitigate against the spread of measles to refugee camps—eventually over 1.3 million children will be vaccinated.
	In Ethiopia, the UK has helped to provide clean water, healthcare and vaccinations for over 100,000 Somali refugees, as well as supporting the UN refugee agency to prevent the spread of disease and pre-position supplies and staff.
	In Kenya, the UK has helped to provide safe drinking water to approximately 300,000 Somali refugees. Over 65,000 Somali refugees are now benefitting from UK funded latrines in the camps. The UK is also helping to provide primary health care services to Somali refugees. In October, UK funded health centres undertook over 12,600 consultations.

East Africa: Droughts

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress his Department has made in assisting those in need in those parts of Somalia worst affected by conflict where famine was declared in July 2011.

Andrew Mitchell: Britain has let the response to the crisis in Somalia, the UK has provided over £57 million since July to address the country's extraordinary humanitarian situation.
	To date the UK has provided food for 250,000 people, emergency nutrition treatment to some 11,000 severely acutely malnourished children and vaccinations against measles for over 900,000 children. UK support has also funded clean water, shelter, and other humanitarian support to those in need. These results have been achieved with a number of partners working in difficult conditions, where access to affected populations is not easy. Almost all UK humanitarian aid for Somalia is directed towards the famine affected areas in the South of the country.
	The recent assessment by the UN's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit has recorded a modest improvement in the situation, with three of the previous six famine regions no longer classified as being in famine. However, needs remain huge, and the UK will continue to play its part in the response, and lobby others to meet their fair share.

Libya: Elections

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has received any requests from the Libyan National Transitional Council for UK support for capacity-building for the planned 2012 elections.

Andrew Mitchell: The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) leads for the international community on the provision of election support to the Libyan authorities and this has been one of its foremost priorities. UNSMIL has, at the request of the National Transitional Council (NTC), begun to provide expertise and support to the NTC in relation to electoral process, electoral law, the future electoral management body, voter registration and civic education.
	The UK is working closely with the NTC and UNSMIL to identify where we might support Libyan-led processes. We are particularly keen to support participation by women and young people and are encouraging the NTC to take this into account in the political process. The UK has not received any specific requests for support for the 2012 elections, but we will continue to work with the NTC and UNSMIL on this issue.

Overseas Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) letters and (b) emails he has received concerning aid provision in developing countries in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: Over the past 12 months the Public Enquiry Point has received the following items:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Items with 'aid' as subject 2,239 
			 Items with 'aid provision' as subject 2,247 
			 Items with 'aid to developing countries' as subject 2,247 
		
	
	Over the same time period we have received 1,335 letters regarding the provision of aid.

Somalia: Asylum

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to work with the international community and the Government of Kenya to identify lasting solutions for the Somali refugee population which respect international legal principles.

Andrew Mitchell: I discussed refugee issues with the Government of Kenya during my visit to Kenya in July, when I also visited the Dadaab refugee camp. I also saw the Kenyan Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, George Saitoti when he visited London on 21 November.
	Resettlement and local integration are unlikely to provide durable solutions for the vast majority of Somali refugees. Opportunities should be taken to incentivise voluntary to Somalia return where it is safe to do so. But large scale return remains unlikely without greater stability in Somalia—a key objective of our development and political engagement there.
	UK Government officials therefore continue to work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other donors to press the Kenyan Government to fulfil their obligations under international refugee law. My Department has allocated £6 million since July to UNHCR and other partners to support 130,000 refugees with relief assistance, including healthcare, nutrition, shelter and water and sanitation. I am currently considering what support we should provide in 2012.

Somaliland: Sovereignty

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) letters and (b) emails his Department received concerning the recognition of the independence of Somaliland in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: In the last 12 months, the Department for International Development has not received any ministerial correspondence concerning the recognition of independence of Somaliland.
	Over the same time period we received 15 inquiries by e-mail to the Public Enquiry Point on this subject.

JUSTICE

Birmingham Prison

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether additional costs were added to the public sector bid in respect of the recent tendering process for HM Prison Birmingham.

Crispin Blunt: The public sector bid team were required to make a series of uplifts and adjustments to their bid for HMP Birmingham.
	All bidders were made aware of the Principles of Competition for Phase 1 Prisons Competition (inclusive of HMP Birmingham) including the uplift on bid costs for the public sector at the start of the process.
	The Principles of Competition requires a public sector bid to apply both percentages and fixed amounts to cover specified individual costs but it is important to note that some percentage mark-ups only apply to specific elements of the bid (for example pension mark-up applies only to pay roll costs). Overall totals/percentages therefore will differ between individual bids reflecting the overall cost of the bid itself.
	Phase 1 Competition
	The full list of uplifts applied the public sector bids for the Phase 1 which included Birmingham and Buckley Hall were as follows:
	6.5%—Added to direct costs to reflect indirect costs/corporate overheads
	3%—Added to payroll costs for pensions
	2% or 1%—Added to total costs to reflect risk retention (depending on prison, ie 2% HMP Birmingham
	£ cost—Actual cost of insurance quoted by a commercial insurer
	£ cost—Actual cost of bidding assuming recover rate of 1.67 on £1.1 million
	The insurance cost quoted for Birmingham was £406,794.
	Based on these principles the overall mark-up for each of the public sector bids was less than 10%.

Civil Disorder

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice of those found guilty of offences committed during the public disorder of summer 2011, how many have (a) appealed the decision and (b) subsequently been successful in their appeal.

Crispin Blunt: Appeals made by defendants found guilty at all courts for offences relating to the public disorder from 6 to 9 August, as at 16 November 2011 (latest available figures), can be viewed in the following table:
	
		
			 Appeals made by defendants found guilty of offences relating to the public disorder between 6 and 9 August 2011—data as of 16 November 2011 (1,2,3) 
			  Appeal court  
			  Crown court Court of Appeal Total 
			 Appeals made 22 43 65 
			 O f which:    
			 Successful, sentence reduced 16 4 20 
			 Abandoned/refused/dismissed 5 18 23 
			 Awaiting hearing or judgment 1 21 22 
			 (1) In order to allow timely reporting of statistics on defendants proceeded against at the magistrates courts for offences resulting from the 6 to 9 August period of public disorder a dataset has been compiled from manual returns from the courts. This table was compiled from data received by 16 November 2011. (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Civil Proceedings

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has considered introducing a civil cases review commission.

Kenneth Clarke: The Government have no plans to introduce a civil cases review commission. Unlike criminal cases civil cases are disputes between private parties. If a party is unhappy with the outcome of a cases it is for them to determine whether to take any further steps, including the whether to apply to the court for permission to appeal.

Crime: Victims

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the findings of the Victims' Views of Court and Sentencing report by the Commissioner for Victims' and Witnesses in England and Wales; and what steps he will be taking in response to the findings.

Crispin Blunt: The Government are giving careful consideration to the findings of the Victims' Commissioner's report on victims' views of court and sentencing. We are determined to ensure that victims are supported in the best way possible, and that victims who need it receive reparation from offenders and have access to restorative justice. The Government are reviewing these issues, and will be publishing proposals for consultation in due course.

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Sexual Offences

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many (a) rape and (b) adult sexual assault applications compensation has been refused or reduced by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board due to (i) previous convictions or other bad character, (ii) the applicant having been found not to be a victim of crime, (iii) the applicant not fulfilling the requirement of reporting the matter to the police without delay, (iv) the applicant not supporting a prosecution and (v) any other reason in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: CICA does not have figures showing how many people were refused compensation categorised by reference to specific crimes. The Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme (the scheme), which was approved by Parliament in 2008, provides for awards to be assessed primarily by reference to criminal injuries. Injury descriptions, from the scheme's 'tariff of injuries', are therefore used as the primary basis for calculating and recording payments actually made.
	CICA can produce figures based on awards paid. The tariff contains several injury descriptions that could apply to people who have been sexually assaulted, a subset of those descriptions are the most likely to apply to victims of rape. The figures CICA is able to produce, which follow, are therefore based on claims where they paid awards to adult victims for these injury descriptions. Figures are not included for those who were found not to have been victims of a crime, since CICA would not pay an award in those circumstances.
	
		
			 Number of reduced awards for rape/other sexual assault 
			  Convictions or character Delay in reporting Not supporting a prosecution Other 
			 Financial year Rape Other Rape Other Rape Other Rape Other 
			 2006-07 42 11 3 l 4 2 81 2 
			 2007-08 30 20 2 l 31 1 14 4 
			 2008-09 44 20 l 3 2 0 21 0 
			 2009-10 49 27 0 2 3 l 0 0 
			 2010-11 71 34 3 0 2 l 0 0

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Sexual Offences

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) rape and (b) adult sexual assault victims have applied for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in each of the last five years; and how many received full awards of the recommended amount.

Jonathan Djanogly: CICA does not have complete figures for how many people made applications under the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme (the scheme) categorised by reference to specific crimes. The scheme, which was approved by Parliament in 2008, provides for payments to be made by reference to criminal injuries. Injury descriptions, from the scheme's ‘tariff of injuries’, are therefore used as the primary basis for calculating awards so they are only reliably recorded once CICA has assessed someone as eligible to receive the compensation payable for that injury.
	CICA can produce figures based on awards paid. The tariff contains several injury descriptions that could apply to people who have been sexually assaulted, a subset of those descriptions are the most likely to apply to victims of rape. The figures CICA is able to produce, which follow, are therefore based on claims where they paid awards to adult victims for these injury descriptions.
	
		
			 Number of full awards 
			 Financial year Rape Other sexual assault 
			 2006-07 377 490 
			 2007-08 504 522 
			 2008-09 773 573 
			 2009-10 726 525 
			 2010-11 854 527

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Sexual Offences

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) rape and (b) adult sexual assault victims who were refused compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority were granted it by the First Tier Tribunal in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: Awards under the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme are based on the injuries people sustain. Injury descriptions, from the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme's ‘tariff of injuries', are used as the primary basis for paying compensation.
	CICA can produce figures based on awards paid. The tariff contains several injury descriptions that could apply to people who have been sexually assaulted, a subset of those descriptions are the most likely to apply to victims of rape. The following table shows the number of awards the Tribunals Service have made for sexual offence injury descriptions in cases CICA initially refused in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			 Number of appeals awards following CICA refusal 
			 Financial year Rape Other sexual assault 
			 2006-07 23 12 
			 2007-08 22 15 
			 2008-09 25 10 
			 2009-10 23 8 
			 2010-11 21 7

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Sexual Offences

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in what circumstances the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will refuse (a) at first instance, (b) at review and (c) on appeal claims for compensation by victims of rape or adult sexual assault where there has not been (i) a complaint to police, (ii) a charge brought or (iii) a prosecution.

Jonathan Djanogly: Each case is dealt with on its own merits using the evidence available, such as police and medical evidence, and the criteria do not change when a case is at review or appeal. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2008 makes clear that it is not necessary for an assailant to be convicted for a victim to get compensation.

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Sexual Offences

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) will take to determine whether a claimant for compensation alleging rape or sexual assault has been a victim of crime in cases where there has not been (a) a complaint to police, (b) a person charged and (c) a prosecution; and what steps CICA will take to make such a determination in cases where the defendant was acquitted at trial.

Jonathan Djanogly: Each case is dealt with on its own merits using the evidence available, such as police and medical evidence. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2008 (the Scheme) places the onus on the claimant to establish on the balance of probabilities that an offence has been committed. That is not the criminal standard, and it is not necessary for any charge or conviction to have been secured.

Departmental Internet

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what social media presence his Department has.

Kenneth Clarke: The Department has a presence on the following social media channels:
	Twitter
	Youtube
	Flickr
	LinkedIn
	Disqus
	Getsatisfaction
	AddThis

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the drug recovery wings that his Department is piloting; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: Drug recovery wing (DRW) pilots have been launched in five prisons. An implementation study has already commenced and an interim report will be available in July 2012. A Department of Health evaluation study is expected to be commissioned on an open competitive tender basis and to start in autumn 2012.

Employment Tribunals

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the effect on the number of employment tribunal cases of the introduction of a charge for registering a claim.

Jonathan Djanogly: We are in the process of developing proposals for the introduction of fees into the employment tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal and options are still being finalised. We will be consulting on our proposals shortly. The consultation document will set out the options for proposed fee structures and the indicative fee levels which might be applied. No decision will be made on the level of fees to be paid until that consultation has been completed. The impact assessment which will accompany the consultation document will provide details of the estimated impact of the introduction of fees on the number of claims received by employment tribunals.

Employment Tribunals

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes have been made to the budget of the Employment Tribunal Service since May 2010; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such changes on the average time for concluding employment tribunals.

Jonathan Djanogly: Employment tribunals (ETs) are administered by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), which has a central operating budget. The direct element of that budget in relation to ETs was £60.9 million for 2010-11 and £59 million for 2011-12. These budget figures do not include apportioned overheads. No detailed budgets have yet been agreed or finalised for future financial years.
	The reduction in budget allocation between 2010-11 and 2011-12 reflects the HMCTS drive for continual efficiency improvements. It also reflected a slight decrease in workloads before the ETs. The assessment made by HMCTS is that the reduction should not lead to any lengthier period between receipt and disposal of cases. Indeed, the latest available management information shows performance against timeliness targets has improved in the first quarter 2011-12 to 62%, relative to 58% in the same quarter of 2010-11.
	HMCTS publishes annual and quarterly statistics which cover workloads and performance against timeliness measures, including (where available) historic trends. This material is available on the Ministry of Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/tribunals/index.htm
	The most recent published information is in respect of the first quarter of 2011-12 (April to June).

Employment Tribunals

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the total cost of HM Courts and Tribunals Service E-working project has been;
	(2)  how many claims were filed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service on the E-working system in each quarter since its inception;
	(3)  what the original target date was for completion of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service E-working project; and what his most recent estimate is of the likely completion date for the system.

Jonathan Djanogly: The costs covering the period from November 2008 (project start) to September 2010 (departure of the original development team) were £5,848,000 and these costs have been confirmed in a response to a Freedom of Information Act request number 70941.
	From October 2010 to September 2011 the costs were £1,155,796.
	Total costs to date are therefore £7,003,796.
	Costs for October 2011 onwards are still under discussion between HMCTS and their suppliers as part of the scoping and planning exercise referred to the following table.
	The number of claims that have been filed electronically since the inception of the e-Working system in 2009 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Financial year All e-working (electronic and scanned) Filed electronically Totals 
			 2009-10    
			 Q1 6 4 10 
			 Q2 38 51 89 
			 Q3 110 41 151 
			 Q4 337 69 406 
			     
			 2010-11    
			 Q1 540 42 582 
			 Q2 1,495 33 1,528 
			 Q3 1,826 21 1,847 
			 Q4 1,979 109 2,088 
			     
			 2011-12    
			 Q1 (1)4,369 7 4,376 
			 Q2 2,136 21 2,157 
			 (1) High volume of HM Revenue and Customs petitions filed in this quarter 
		
	
	The e-Working system was originally due to complete in March 2010, with roll-out of an electronic filing, document management, payment and listings capability for jurisdictions moving into the Rolls Building. The core e-Filing and Document Management parts of the system are now live in those jurisdictions and online payment and listings capabilities are going through an iterative development and testing cycle. HMCTS is currently working with its suppliers to agree a new package of system enhancements and upgrades including those capabilities and new features such as a web-based end user interface. The scope and timetable have not yet been agreed.

Official Solicitor and Public Trustee Office: Freedom of Information

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to bring the Office of the Official Solicitor within the jurisdiction of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Jonathan Djanogly: We are currently considering the position of the Office of the Official Solicitor under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. I will write to the hon. Member with further information on this point once our consideration is complete.

Prisoners’ Release: Plymouth

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders with addresses in Plymouth on conviction were released to addresses in Plymouth in the last 12 months.

Crispin Blunt: A total of 89,924 offenders were released from custodial sentences in 2010. It is not possible to say how many of these had an address in Plymouth at both the time of conviction and on release because full address information is not held centrally. The information will be held locally by offender managers, however to gather it would incur disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Ex-servicemen

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether armed forces veterans are identified routinely on reception to prisons in England and Wales.

Crispin Blunt: Prison reception staff are not required to ask newly arrived prisoners whether they have served in the armed forces. However, prisoners have the opportunity to discuss aspects of their background with staff during the induction and assessment processes. Governors of more than 100 prisons have made resources available to the Veterans in Custody Support scheme, which encourages prisoners who have served in the armed services to disclose this, if they chose to do so.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners of each nationality are being held in HM Prison (a) Brixton, (b) Feltham, (c) Holloway, (d) Isis, (e) Latchmere House, (f) Pentonville, (g) Wandsworth and (h) Wormwood Scrubs.

Crispin Blunt: The following tables show the number of foreign national prisoners of each nationality being held in each of the listed prisons, as at 30 September 2011. HMP Latchmere House is now closed and was not holding any prisoners on 30 September 2011.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Table 1: Population in prison by selected establishment and nationality status, 30 September 2011 
			 Establishment British nationals Foreign nationals Nationality not recorded Total population 
			 Brixton 523 233 19 775 
			 Feltham 537 151 36 724 
			 Holloway 374 149 37 560 
			 Isis(1) 458 75 5 538 
			 Pentonville 876 379 46 1,301 
			 Wandsworth 1,024 547 109 1,680 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 677 433 123 1,233 
			 (1) HMP & YOI Isis, which opened on 28 July 2010, is sited within the perimeter wall of HMP Belmarsh. Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so although shown to the last individual, the figure may not be accurate to that level. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Foreign national prison population by nationality and selected establishment, 30 September 2011 
			  Brixton Feltham Holloway Isis Pentonville Wandsworth Wormwood Scrubs Total 
			 Afghanistan 3 13 1 1 2 3 5 28 
			 Albania 0 0 1 1 6 7 8 23 
			 Algeria 2 7 0 1 8 13 8 39 
			 Angola 4 1 0 0 2 1 2 10 
			 Antigua and Barbuda 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Armenia 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Australia 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Azerbaijan 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Bangladesh 11 5 2 1 13 7 1 40 
			 Barbados 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 
			 Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Benin 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Bermuda 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Bolivia 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Brazil 4 0 4 0 5 2 4 19 
			 Bulgaria 0 1 11 0 2 5 3 22 
			 Burundi 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 5 
			 Cameroon 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 3 
			 Central African Republic 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Chile 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 5 
			 China 1 1 3 2 1 6 3 17 
			 Colombia 6 0 2 1 2 4 5 20 
			 Congo 4 8 1 1 11 4 6 35 
			 Costa Rica 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Croatia 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Cyprus 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 5 
			 Czech Republic 3 3 4 0 0 8 1 19 
			 Denmark 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 4 
			 Dominica 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Ecuador 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Egypt 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 
			 Equatorial Guinea 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Estonia 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 4 
			 Ethiopia 5 2 0 0 3 2 3 15 
			 French Guiana 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 France 6 3 4 4 1 16 4 38 
			 Gambia 1 0 0 0 1 5 1 8 
			 Georgia 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Germany 1 1 0 1 2 6 2 13 
			 Ghana 5 2 1 3 7 9 8 35 
			 Gibraltar 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Greece 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 5 
			 Grenada 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 
			 Guinea 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 
		
	
	
		
			 Guyana 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 5 
			 Hungary 1 0 0 0 2 8 4 15 
			 India 2 0 1 0 8 6 49 66 
			 Iran 1 3 1 0 3 8 10 26 
			 Iraq 1 4 0 0 1 6 3 15 
			 Irish Republic 13 5 3 2 21 16 24 84 
			 Israel 2 2 1 0 1 3 4 13 
			 Italy 0 0 2 1 3 4 5 15 
			 Ivory Coast 2 2 1 1 3 0 1 10 
			 Jamaica 37 18 15 15 35 29 15 164 
			 Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Jordan 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Kenya 2 0 0 1 1 4 0 8 
			 Kuwait 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 5 
			 Latvia 1 0 2 0 5 19 7 34 
			 Lebanon 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 
			 Liberia 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 
			 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 0 1 0 1 0 3 3 8 
			 Lithuania 9 2 4 5 32 29 11 92 
			 Macedonia 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 
			 Malaysia 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 
			 Mauritania 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Mauritius 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Mexico 0 0 2 0 1 4 4 11 
			 Mongolia 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Montserrat 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 
			 Morocco 2 2 2 0 4 6 4 20 
			 Mozambique 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Namibia 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 
			 Netherlands 2 6 2 0 1 3 12 26 
			 Niger 0 0 2 2 1 2 0 7 
			 Nigeria 12 5 9 6 25 22 23 102 
			 Pakistan 5 0 0 0 13 12 3 33 
			 Paraguay 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Philippines 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 6 
			 Poland 15 2 7 2 27 99 43 195 
			 Portugal 11 7 1 2 8 8 7 44 
			 Romania 8 9 18 5 31 57 31 159 
			 Russian Federation 0 0 3 0 2 6 5 16 
			 Rwanda 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 
			 Saudi Arabia 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Senegal 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 
			 Sierra Leone 4 1 0 1 5 2 2 15 
			 Slovakia 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 7 
			 Somalia 10 13 6 4 19 16 34 102 
			 South Africa 2 1 2 1 1 5 1 13 
			 Spain 1 0 2 0 0 1 2 6 
			 Sri Lanka 3 0 1 0 3 11 8 26 
			 St Kitts and Nevis 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 St Lucia 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 5 
			 St Vincent and the Grenadines 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Sudan 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 4 
			 Suriname 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Sweden 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Switzerland 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Syrian Arab Republic 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 
			 Tanzania 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 3 
			 Thailand 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Trinidad and Tobago 2 1 2 0 3 1 2 11 
			 Tunisia 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 5 
			 Turkey 7 2 1 0 10 5 3 28 
			 Uganda 3 2 1 1 1 2 2 12 
			 Ukraine 3 0 1 0 1 1 3 9 
			 United Arab Emirates 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 United States 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 
			 Uzbekistan 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 
			 Vietnam 4 5 5 0 6 4 4 28 
			 Western Sahara 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Yemen, Republic of 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Zambia 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 
			 Zimbabwe 0 2 1 2 2 2 0 9 
			          
			 Total 233 151 149 75 379 547 433 1,967 
			 Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so although shown to the last individual, the figure may not be accurate to that level.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners have been repatriated from HM Prison (a) Brixton, (b) Feltham, (c) Holloway, (d) Isis, (e) Latchmere House, (f) Pentonville, (g) Wandsworth and (h) Wormwood Scrubs since May 2010.

Crispin Blunt: In 2010, 5,235 foreign national prisoners were removed or deported from the United Kingdom at the end of their sentence. Between May 2010 and 8 November 2011, a total of 57 prisoners were repatriated from England and Wales to complete their sentences in their countries of origin. Of the 57 prisoners, two applied for repatriation while resident in HMP Wandsworth and two applied while resident in HMP Wormwood Scrubs.
	All prisoners repatriated from England and Wales are taken to HMP Wandsworth (male prisoners), HMP Holloway (female prisoners), and HMP Belmarsh, (high security prisoners), immediately prior to their removal from the United Kingdom.

Probation: Ex-servicemen

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many probation trusts have appointed a veterans link to ensure armed forces personnel are directed to relevant welfare agencies.

Crispin Blunt: It is the responsibility of each probation trust to make arrangements to address the needs of offenders who have previously served in the armed forces. To date, 18 of the 35 probation trusts have appointed a veterans link. The remaining trusts are alive to the needs of ex-service personnel and are looking at ways to address them.

Supreme Court: Public Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to encourage greater diversity and gender equality in the Supreme Court.

Kenneth Clarke: On 21 November, I issued a public consultation on judicial diversity and appointments. It includes a number of proposals that will encourage greater diversity in the Supreme Court.

EDUCATION

Child Care

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to promote flexibility and choice in child care provision.

Sarah Teather: Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure free early education places, of 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year, for all three and four-year-olds. The early years single funding formula reforms, introduced by the Government in April, ensure that funding for the free early education entitlement follows the child and is driven by parental demand. Places are available in a wide range of providers including maintained nursery classes, pre-schools, full day nurseries and registered childminders to enable parents to choose the most appropriate setting for their child.
	The Department is also funding trials in 18 local authorities to support the expansion of free early years education to disadvantaged two-year-olds from 2013, and a number of these trials are testing new approaches to increasing flexibility. The trials will run until 31 March 2012.
	We are currently consulting on proposals to make the entitlement more flexible to increase take up and better meet families' needs. This would enable the free hours to be taken between 7 am and 7 pm (rather than between 8 am and 6 pm as currently), with a maximum of 10 free hours per day. We also propose to enable parents to take up the full 15 hour entitlement over two days (rather than the current minimum of three days).
	Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure sufficient child care to meet the needs of working parents. The Government are keen to encourage local authorities to do more to keep parents informed about what they are doing to meet this duty. We are consulting on whether a local annual report would be a more effective and meaningful way of enabling parents to hold their local authority to account for the choice and availability of suitable child care locally.
	The consultation is available on the Department's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/consultations
	and will run for 12 weeks.
	In addition, the Department is providing funding through the voluntary and community sector grants programme to the Daycare Trust to promote the benefits of early education and child care to parents, and to 4Children to foster the diversity of early years provision and choice for parents.

Children: Hearing Impairment

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what information his Department collects on the number of people qualified as specialist social workers for deaf children in (a) England and (b) Suffolk in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what the average number was of deaf children supported by a specialist social worker for deaf children in (a) England and (b) Suffolk in each of the last three years;
	(3)  how many specialist workers for deaf children there were in (a) England and (b) Suffolk in each of the last three years.

Sarah Teather: The Department does not hold information centrally about the numbers of social workers and specialist workers working with deaf children. Data from the General Teaching Council for England show that there are currently 896 active teachers who hold the mandatory qualification for teaching pupils with a hearing impairment.

Children's Centres: Leicester

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children have participated in Sure Start services in Leicester South constituency since its introduction.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 15 November 2011
	The Department does not collect this information. Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient children's centres in their area to meet local need, so far as is reasonably practicable. It is for local authorities to commission children's centres and to monitor and evaluate the use and impact of their services.

Home-Start

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with representatives from Home-Start; what assessment he has made of the effects of Home-Start on families in Norfolk; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: Home-Start UK receives a grant from the Department for Education to support its provision of services to local Home-Start schemes. Officials regularly meet Home-Start UK to discuss work under this grant agreement to ensure financial propriety and value for money,
	Local Home-Start schemes provide vulnerable families, who may feel isolated from the local community, with practical and emotional support. No assessment of the effects of Home-Start on families in Norfolk has been commissioned by the Department for Education.

School Meals: Standards

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to commission research on adherence to nutritional standards for food served in free schools.

Sarah Teather: Free schools have the same legal status as academies which are not bound by the nutritional standards, although the standards provide a benchmark of good practice. The Secretary of State has asked the School Food Trust to look at the approach taken by academies to providing healthy school food for their pupils, including a mixture of established and new academies. We have no plans for separate work looking just at free schools.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Conditions of Employment

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the potential effects on agricultural workers of proposed changes to employment regulations.

James Paice: The Government are committed to reviewing employment enforcement and compliance law over the lifetime of the current Parliament. As part of this process, DEFRA officials work closely with colleagues in other Departments to assess the effect of employment law proposals on agricultural workers. However, there have been no recent cross-departmental ministerial discussions on this issue.

Agriculture: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to ensure an unproblematic transition from classic agri-environment agreements schemes such as the Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Countryside Stewardship schemes to successor agri-environmental schemes such as the Uplands Entry Level Schemes and Higher Level Stewardship within the constraints of available staffing and funding.

James Paice: Natural England takes a proactive approach to ensure there is a seamless transfer for farmers with expiring Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) and Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) agreements into the appropriate Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreement. That approach involves contacting agreement holders at least a year before their agreement is due to end and offering free advice about their options.
	To date, 85% of the area formerly under an ESA or CSS agreement has successfully transferred into an ES agreement.
	Not all ESA/CSS agreement holders will be eligible for Higher Level Stewardship and, where this is the case, farmers are being strongly advised to consider signing up to the Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) strands of ES. Natural England offers free specialist assistance through individual farm visits to those considering ELS to assist with appropriate option choices and provide information on the application process.

Agriculture: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to ensure that Environmental Stewardship schemes take account of both the preservation of traditional farming and of conservation.

James Paice: Environmental Stewardship (ES) has a pivotal role in DEFRA's priorities to enhance the natural environment and to improve the quality of life.
	ES objectives cover both wildlife conservation and the preservation of traditional farming practices, including: the maintenance of important traditional landscape features such as hedgerows and dry stone walls; encouraging conservation of existing traditional orchards and planting of new trees using traditional varieties; protection of the historic environment (including protection of archaeological features and restoration and maintenance of traditional farm buildings); and protection of natural resources (through improvements to water quality by reducing soil erosion and surface water run-off).
	Following the 2010 spending review, spending on Higher Level Stewardship, which is targeted at delivering the highest possible environmental benefits, will increase by more than 80% by 2013-14 compared to 2010-11. This represents a significant endorsement of the scheme and its potential. It ensures the protection and maintenance of the environmental benefits delivered to date, and allows for further growth of these benefits.
	DEFRA is continuing to work with Natural England and stakeholders to improve ES' environmental effectiveness and value for money.

Agriculture: Sky Lanterns

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the risks to crops and farm animals posed by sky lanterns.

James Paice: We are aware of the concern among farmers and the wider agricultural community about the potential risks of lanterns. We are continuing to work with other Departments and the agricultural industry to address them.
	Sky lanterns can seriously injure or even kill cattle because the animals sometimes eat the lanterns' wireframes. There is also the problem of litter caused when the smouldering remnants of lanterns fall into farmers' fields.
	In the summer I asked the British Hospitality Association to advise hotels, restaurants and other venues to discourage customers from using sky lanterns because of the problems they are causing in the countryside. We also take steps to make the public aware of the problems which sky lanterns can cause before using them.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of legal advice as to whether a ban on wild animals in circuses would be lawful under (a) EU law generally and (b) UK directive 2006/123/EC.

James Paice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert), during the oral answers to questions on 13 October 2011, Official Report, columns 467-68.

Animal Welfare: Dogs

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to encourage consistency in the fees charged by local authorities for the return of stray dogs.

James Paice: Under the Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations 1992, local authorities are entitled to charge the owner of a stray dog all expenses incurred during the dog’s detention, plus a prescribed amount of £25. The length of each dog’s detention may vary and additional costs such as veterinary treatment may also be incurred. It is therefore difficult for every local authority to charge a similar amount.

Animal Welfare: Dogs

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of dogs placed in animal welfare establishments in each of the last five years.

James Paice: The Government do not keep figures for the number of dogs handed into independent animal welfare establishments. However, the Minister for Animal Welfare, Lord Taylor, has frequent meetings with representatives of these organisations and we are aware of the rise in the number of dogs that they are caring for.

Biodiversity: Finance

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much her Department has spent on measures to protect biodiversity in each year since 2000; and what her Department plans to spend on such measures in each year until 2014-15;
	(2)  what the budget is for implementation of Biodiversity 2020: A Strategy for England's Wildlife and Ecosystem Services; and how that budget will be spent.

Richard Benyon: Details of the main elements of biodiversity expenditure are provided in the following table. These figures represent spend by DEFRA programmes and the wider DEFRA network but do not include staff costs. They also include total agri-environment scheme expenditure, of which a major share is judged to be spent on biodiversity.
	
		
			 Expenditure (£ million) 
			  2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 DEFRA: Agri-environment schemes 80.1 81.3 104.9 129.8 167.8 187.2 254.6 323.3 349.4 351.1 
			            
			 Other DEFRA expenditure:           
			 Biodiversity Programme n/a 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 2.5 2.3 2.8 3.2 
			 Research 0.2 1.2 2.3 1.7 1.5 1.9 6.5 5.0 6.3 5.8 
			            
			 Environment Agency 3.9 3.9 4.0 3.9 5.9 10.5 11.6 7.3 23.5 25.5 
			 Forestry Commission 18.1 20.1 15.1 14.4 14.7 17.7 22.8 28.1 33.3 32.0 
			 Natural England 34.0 43.9 57.2 57.2 55.5 57.3 54.1 52.7 52.4 56.9 
			 Joint Nature Conservation Committee 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.8 1.8 2.1 1.7 2.1 
			 DEFRA network total 137.3 151.5 184.8 208.3 246.9 276.5 353.9 420.8 469.4 476.6 
			            
			 DEFRA Global Biodiversity expenditure 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 7.0 10.1 11.0 6.7 7.1 
			 Kew—UK spend 0.7 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.1 
			 Kew—Global spend 20.4 22.1 22.9 28.8 32.6 28.2 30.6 30.6 33.9 28.8 
		
	
	We do not have a single dedicated budget for biodiversity protection measures, nor “Biodiversity 2020”. Funding for both comes from a wide range of sources within DEFRA, and from arm’s length bodies and beyond, and much of the contributing action goes beyond the measures directly focussed on biodiversity. In view of this and the current financial climate it is not possible to predict what these budgets will be in future, nor what proportion will be spent on biodiversity measures. We are developing a delivery plan for “Biodiversity 2020”, to be completed in early 2012, which will set out the actions to be taken to implement the strategy.

Biofuels: Pollution

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will bring forward proposals to prohibit the combustion of chromated copper arsenate wood in biomass power stations.

Richard Benyon: Plants that use waste fuels, including treated wood containing heavy metals such as chromium, arsenic and copper, are already subject to the very stringent operating requirements of the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC). This provides a high level of protection for the environment and human health.

Biofuels: Pollution

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to measure levels of (a) black carbon and (b) arsenic emissions from biomass generating plants in the UK.

Richard Benyon: If a biomass generating plant has a rated thermal input of greater than 20 megawatts, it is subject to regulation under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. These require the regulator (the local authority for plants of less than 50 MW, otherwise the Environment Agency) to set emission limit values and associated monitoring requirements for any pollutant likely to be emitted in significant quantities. Emission limit values for particulate matter act as a surrogate for black carbon emissions. There is currently no internationally agreed measurement standard for black carbon and definitions of what constitutes black carbon vary.
	If a biomass generating plant, irrespective of its rated thermal input, burns waste (other than untreated waste wood and certain other specific types of waste), it must also meet the stringent requirements of the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC). This includes a requirement to carry out at least two measurements a year of arsenic emissions to air.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings officials in her Department have had to discuss the proposed badger cull based on shooting since January 2011; and with whom.

James Paice: In addition to internal meetings, since January 2011, DEFRA officials have met representatives from the following organisations to discuss the proposals for badger control:
	Association of Chief Police Officers
	Badger Trust
	British Association of Shooting and Conservation
	British Veterinary Association/British Cattle Veterinary Association
	Country Land and Business Association
	DEFRA's Science Advisory Council
	Independent scientific experts
	National Beef Association
	National Farmers Union
	National Gamekeepers' Organisation
	National Trust
	Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
	Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
	TB Epidemiology and Wildlife Risks Programme Advisory Group
	TB Eradication Group for England
	TB Science Advisory Body
	Tenant Farmers Association
	Wildlife Trusts.
	Other Government Departments and agencies:
	Home Office
	Cabinet Office
	Sir John Beddington (Government's Chief Scientific Adviser)
	Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency
	Food and Environment Research Agency
	Natural England.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings (a) she and (b) officials in her Department plan to have to discuss the proposed badger cull based on shooting in the next six months; and with whom.

James Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), is planning to meet again with key stakeholder groups before announcing a decision on the badger control proposals. It is likely that officials will also meet with a number of key stakeholders, but there are currently no firm plans for such meetings.

Canal and River Trust: Finance

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps she plans to take to address the projected funding deficit for British Waterways as a result of its moving from public to charitable ownership;
	(2)  what plans she has for Government funding and grants to British Waterways after it converts to charitable status.

Richard Benyon: The majority of funding for British Waterways comes from its commercial activities and through its licensing operations rather than from Government grant funding. During the last spending review period, grant funding contributed between 30% and 35% of British Waterways' revenue that is spent on the waterways in England and Wales.
	In the current, tough fiscal environment, the Government will give the Canal and River Trust (CRT) the best possible start. We have already committed to transfer British Waterways' commercial property portfolio, which is valued at £460 million, to the CRT, and to long-term funding at the 2014-15 level of £39 million to 2022-23 inclusive. The amount and terms of the funding agreement are currently subject to negotiation between the CRT trustees and the Government.
	The transfer of British Waterways to the charitable sector creates new opportunities for growing income from private and commercial sources, making efficiencies and forming supportive partnerships. The charity will also be able to borrow against its assets and so expand income in the longer term. The move will, therefore, improve the long-term financial sustainability of the waterways.

Carbon Emissions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to assist local authorities to establish local low emission zones by providing support with (a) costs and (b) enforcement; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA already publishes guidance to local authorities that wish to establish low emission zones. It includes advice on selecting methods for implementation, practical issues that have arisen in implementing previous schemes, and how to appraise potential costs and air quality benefits. We have also provided funding, through the air quality grant scheme, to several local authorities to support investigations into local low emission zones.
	The Government are working with local authorities and others to explore the feasibility of providing further support to local authorities on low emission zones.

Dangerous Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many items of correspondence her Department has received on dangerous dogs since June 2010.

James Paice: The data requested are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Type Number 
			 Letters received from the public 204 
			 E-mails received from the public 333 
			 Letters received from Members of Parliament 423 
			 Letters received from organisations 35 
			 Total 995 
			 Note: Data downloaded from DEFRA’s Management Information System (Contact) on 10 November 2011.

Dangerous Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the estimated cost to the public purse is of kennelling dangerous dogs seized under the provisions of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many dogs have been seized by police in England and Wales under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 since June 2010; and what the estimated cost to the public purse is of such police action.

James Paice: The cost to police forces across England of kennelling dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each year since 2005 cannot be provided because these figures are not held centrally. However, I am able to provide a breakdown of the cost to the Metropolitan police of kennelling dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act
	(1)
	19911 in each year since 2005, which is provided in the following table:
	(1) The figures in the following table provide a breakdown of kennelling and care costs for all dogs, not just dogs seized under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. However, over 85% of the dogs seized by the Metropolitan police are done so under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act.
	
		
			 Cost to Metropolitan police of kennelling dogs 
			 £ 
			 Financial year Boarding Veterinary fees Transport Total 
			 2005-06 148,922.00 250.00 0 149,172.00 
			 2006-07 403,185.18 1,340.00 0 404,525.18 
			 2007-08 834,251.41 1,370.00 0 835,621.41 
			 2008-09 1,253,401.03 17,677.89 5,198.00 1,276,276.92 
			 2009-10 1,750,215.27 245,657.56 93,177.74 2,089,050.57 
			 Source: Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Status Dog Unit 
		
	
	The cost to the Metropolitan police and to police across England of seizing dogs cannot be provided because use of police time is not recorded in this way.

Departmental ICT

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the status is of her Department's new Sam IT system.

James Paice: Release 6 (R6) of the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratorie’s Agency’s Sam system went live on 26 September 2011. There have been some issues with the implementation of the system.
	The AHVLA and their IT services contractor are working closely to resolve all the issues and are confident that the Sam system will be functioning normally by mid- December, with significant improvements week by week.

Departmental Relocation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many civil servants in her Department have been (a) relocated and (b) agreed to relocation in the last 12 months; and to which areas of the UK.

Richard Benyon: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not relocated any civil servants, nor agreed to relocate any civil servants, in the last 12 months.

Public Sector: Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials in her Department and the bodies for which she is responsible earned more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year for which figures are available.

Richard Benyon: The following table shows the number of staff in core-DEFRA and its Executive Agencies (The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Rural Payments Agency, Food and Environment Research Agency and Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) with base pay of more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000.
	
		
			 Organisation Salary band (£) Number of staff 
			 DEFRA £65,000 to £94,999 148 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 19 
			  £140,000to £174,999 2 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency £65,000 to £94,999 9 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 2 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 — 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate £65,000 to £94,999 3 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 1 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 — 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Rural Payments Agency £65,000 to £94,999 3 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 1 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 1 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency £65,000 to £94,999 3 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 3 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 — 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science £65,000 to £94,999 3 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 1 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 — 
			  £175,000+ —

Departmental Public Expenditure

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she receives any external funding for (a) her ministerial office and (b) her advisers; and what the (i) source and (ii) amount is of any such funding.

Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), receives no external funding for either (a) her ministerial office or (b) her advisers.

Departmental Responsibilities

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what dates the (a) Green Infrastructure Partnership, (b) Natural Capital Committee and (c) Ecosystem Markets Task Force have met.

Richard Benyon: The Green Infrastructure Partnership was launched on 11 October with many partners in attendance. Officials have had numerous bilateral meetings with partners and we are organising the first partnership workshop for 5 December this year.
	We are currently recruiting the chair and members of the Natural Capital Committee, and expect that its first meeting will be in early 2012.
	The Ecosystem Markets Task Force is launching on 23 November at the Nomura HQ in London and the first meeting of the taskforce is due in early December. There has already been significant pre-work with the chair, members and the secretariat to ensure that the taskforce gets off to a good start.

Cyber- Security

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to improve cyber-security in relation to her Department’s estate; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Government take cyber-security very seriously and it has been categorised as a tier 1 threat to UK national security. £650 million is being invested over the next four years in a National Cyber Security Programme, working across Departments and with the private sector, international partners and citizens to improve the UK’s cyber-security capability.
	DEFRA routinely assesses the prevailing threats to its ICT systems and applies appropriate and proportionate measures in accordance with the Government standards set out in the Cabinet Office’s Security Policy Framework (SPF). These standards are aligned with industry best practice approaches.
	It is not in the interest of national security to make public details of particular improvements in relation to individual Departments as it may expose vulnerabilities to those who may seek to exploit them.

Dogs: Tagging

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the adequacy of regulations governing the microchipping of dogs.

James Paice: There are certain circumstances where microchipping of dogs is a legal requirement.
	Under the current Pet Travel Scheme rules, all dogs entering the UK must be fitted with a microchip as part of animal health requirements to keep the UK free from rabies and certain other diseases. Identification is mandatory for pets (cats, dogs and ferrets) moving under EC Regulation 998/2003, which lays down conditions that must be complied with when moving pets between European member states and into the European Union from non-EU countries. The UK brings its procedures into line with the European Union on 1 January 2012.
	Under the Welfare of Racing Greyhound Regulations 2010, dogs must be microchipped to take part in races and trials. The greyhound regulations are due to be reviewed in 2015.
	Under the Docking of Working Dogs’ Tails (England) (Regulations) 2007, it is a requirement for a legally docked dog to be identified by a microchip. The tail docking regulations were looked at as part of the review undertaken by DEFRA into the effectiveness of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. DEFRA consulted a wide range of stakeholders, but no evidence was presented relating to these regulations.
	Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (as amended 1997), one of the requirements, under which an individual prohibited type dog may be permitted to be entered on to the Index of Exempted Dogs, is that it is microchipped. The adequacy of the current legislation and the wider issue of dangerous dogs and irresponsible dog ownership is currently being looked at.

Dogs: Tagging

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to increase the numbers of dogs which are micro-chipped.

James Paice: The Government support the voluntary microchipping of dogs. DEFRA Ministers and officials are currently engaged with key stakeholders from wider government, the police, animal welfare and dog keeping organisations about how to promote more responsible dog ownership and tackle dangerous dogs. One of the proposals under consideration is the compulsory microchipping of dogs.

Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had on the future of the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the future of independent environmental and conservation advice to farmers in the event that the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group closes.

James Paice: Pursuing the twin objectives of a competitive farming sector which plays a full part in protecting and improving the environment is a priority for this Government, and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) epitomises that dual purpose.
	The Farming Regulation Task Force identified the importance of ensuring that the environmental messages we give to farmers and their advisors are clear and well-prioritised. In the Natural Environment White Paper we have committed to undertake a review of advice and incentives for farmers. In taking this work forward we are very conscious of the role of independent environmental and conservation advice providers, such as FWAG.
	Officials from DEFRA and Natural England have been in close contact with FWAG over recent weeks to establish the facts of the current situation and understand the implications. Now that FWAG has gone into administration I know that local groups are examining ways in which they can continue their work.
	FWAG played an important role in the delivery of advice for a number of Government initiatives, including helping farmers to participate in agri-environment schemes and the campaign for the Farmed Environment. The need for this work will continue and independent advice delivered by organisations like FWAG will continue to play a key role in supporting and developing British farming.

Marine Conservation Zones

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to her Department’s Guidance on Selection and Designation of MCZs (Note 1), September 2010, if she will use the best information currently available as the criterion for her designation of marine conservation zones.

Richard Benyon: The Government’s policy is that the best available evidence should support the designation and management of marine conservation zones (MCZs).
	It is important that there is an adequate evidence base if successful well-managed MCZs are to be established. DEFRA wants to make sound decisions on which sites to take forward for designation, so we have ensured and will continue to ensure, that quality assurance processes are put in place.
	It was always foreseen that Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee would examine the adequacy of the evidence for the site recommendations produced by the four regional MCZ projects. DEFRA will also be commissioning additional work to support MCZ designation, including an in-depth review of the evidence base for all the regional projects’ site recommendations and committing additional resources to carrying out sea bed and habitat monitoring.
	As part of the MCZ process, the Government are also addressing the recommendations of the independent review of the evidence process for selecting Special Areas of Conservation published in July 2011. The processes agreed with Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee comprise three phases which would be timed to enable recommendations to be taken into account in formulating their final advice on MCZs:
	(1) an independent review of the protocols by which they will formulate their advice;
	(2) an independent review of the evidence base supporting regional project recommendations; and
	(3) an independent review of the draft advice from Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, which will then be addressed in finalising their advice to DEFRA.
	We will continue the work to ensure that the recommendations and decisions on MCZ designation and how sites will be managed are based on the best available science and evidence.

Meat: Overseas Trade

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to support the UK meat industry to access new overseas markets.

James Paice: DEFRA is taking a number of steps to increase exports of meat, and to promote UK food more generally.
	In doing so, DEFRA works closely with a number of partners to identify and target resources on key market negotiations about animal and public health issues for countries outside the European Union. These partners include industry through the UK Export Certification Partnership and Export Certification User Groups, foreign Governments, other Government Departments in the UK, as well as the Welsh Government and other Devolved Governments.
	I am delighted to say that exports of meat and meat products rose in the first half of 2011 by 15%. The rising figure is the comparison with the same period in 2010.
	The UK Trade and Industry Strategy and DEFRA’s business plan both contain commitments. During his recent visit to Russia, the Prime Minister personally placed discussions about lamb and beef exports high on the agenda, demonstrating the priority the Government attaches to the issue.

Milk: Imports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of the UK's milk was imported in the latest period for which figures are available.

James Paice: In 2010, the UK imported 88 million litres of raw milk and 125 million litres of liquid drinking milk.
	The figures in the following table show the UK production and supply of all milk products on a liquid milk equivalent basis expressed in litres for 2009, the latest year for which these figures are available on this basis. All imports and exports of milk products are included here other than milk products in composite products, e.g. baked goods.
	
		
			  UK liquid milk production  (billion) Whole milk equivalent of milk and milk product imports  (billion) Whole milk equivalent of milk and milk product exports  (billion) Total new supply  (billion) Production as % of new supply 
			 2009 13.2 6.24 2.84 16.61 80 
			 Source: DEFRA Overseas Trade Statistics

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to protect against the import of illegal eggs from countries which are not compliant with the European welfare of laying hens directive.

James Paice: We have made it clear to the Commission that those producers who have invested in new systems must not be required to compete with producers both at home and in a number of member states who have failed to comply with the directive.
	While the Commission is still seeking information from some member states and considering proposals for enforcement, we are developing our own plans in the event that the Commission fails to act.

Poultry: EU Law

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress she has made on complying with the 1999 EU laying hens directive; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: We expect the vast majority of UK producers will be compliant by 1 January 2012.
	In addition to the industry carrying out its own audits, the Government are making their own efforts to forecast as far as possible likely compliance by the end of the year. Inspectors from the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), the agency responsible for enforcing the conventional cage ban in Great Britain, are visiting all known cage producers. They are reminding producers of the need to comply with the conventional cage ban by 1 January 2012 and at the same time finding out producers' intentions as to whether they will cease production or convert to alternative systems. In addition, DEFRA commissioned ADAS to prepare a report on the progress that the UK egg industry has made towards achieving full compliance with the legislation as at 1 September 2011.
	The intelligence gathered from both these exercises suggests that there were likely to be substantially fewer than 0.5 million conventional cage places still in use at the start of the final quarter of 2011. Of these remaining producers we expect many will either retire from the industry at the end of the year or have a break in production while they decide how best to continue in the industry.
	The Government will be taking tough enforcement action with any UK producers found to be non-compliant after 1 January 2012.

Rivers

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will prohibit the discharge of raw sewage into English watercourses.

Richard Benyon: All discharges to the river network, including discharges from sewage treatment works and associated sewer systems, are controlled by the Environment Agency's environmental permitting activities. In conjunction with the Environment Agency's monitoring programme this ensures that river water quality is protected. Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) allow the controlled discharge of dilute sewage mixed with rainwater when combined sewer systems become overwhelmed during periods of heavy rainfall. Such discharges are necessary to avoid sewage backing up and spilling on to roads or overflowing into people's homes. Since privatisation some 7000 CSOs have been removed or improved with further investment planned at close to 800 more within the period 2010-15.The construction of new CSOs is only agreed by the Environment Agency in exceptional circumstances. To completely eliminate the discharges from CSOs would be prohibitively expensive and offer little or no environmental benefit.

Sustainable Growing Media Task Force

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what dates the Sustainable Growing Media Task Force has met.

Richard Benyon: The first meeting took place on 10 October this year, at which the chairman presented his approach to the taskforce, and taskforce members were able to shape the programme of work going forward.

Water Abstraction

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the abstraction of water from chalk streams on Ministry of Defence land.

Richard Benyon: In 2009 DEFRA consulted on the abstraction provisions of the Water Act 2003 and the Environment Act 1995 with the aim of removing certain exemptions from abstraction licence control. These provisions included requiring Crown bodies to be subject to the same licensing provisions as non-Crown bodies. The Ministry of Defence and a representative from project Aquatrine, the Ministry of Defence's water and wastewater operation and maintenance public-private partnership, responded to the consultation.
	We intend to end all abstraction exemptions, other than those that pose little risk to the environment. We are currently reviewing the consultation responses and the concerns raised.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions Reduction Target

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the insulation industry of the transitional period between the end of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and the start of the Energy Company Obligation.

Gregory Barker: We have considered how to avoid a gap if any energy companies complete their CERT requirements before the start of Green Deal and ECO. We will consult on allowing obligated companies to score any over-delivery, of qualifying measures during the CERT period as early delivery under the ECO scheme.

Carbon Emissions: Public Sector

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of carbon emissions from public sector buildings which are not part of the central government estate in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: The most up-to-date estimate the Department has of carbon emissions from public buildings in England is contained in a report prepared by Cameo Advisory Services Ltd for DECC in July 2011. A link to this report is:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/tackling-climate-change/saving-energy-co2/2261-camco-report-public-sector-emissions.pdf

Climate Change: International Co-operation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has taken steps to seek to ensure that agreements are signed by all participating countries at the COP 17 meeting in Durban in December to (a) assist the world's most vulnerable communities adapt to climate change which is unavoidable and (b) introduce a binding international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with what is required to ensure that any average global temperature increase remains well below two degrees Celsius; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to achieving an ambitious global deal to cut emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increases to below two degrees Celsius, and to helping countries adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change. The UK has been working closely with a broad range of partners to seek to ensure that progress is made at COP 17 in Durban towards a new legally binding agreement covering all parties. The Government are also working to agree at Durban further progress on implementing what we achieved at Cancun last year, including on the delivery of finance to developing countries for mitigation and adaptation.

Electricity

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on businesses of the proposals contained in his Department's White Paper, entitled Planning our electric future: a White Paper for secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity, published in July 2011.

Charles Hendry: The impact assessment (IA) accompanying the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) White Paper provides an assessment of the effects of the EMR proposals on businesses. As noted in section 5 of the IA, for the Governments preferred policy package of feed-in tariffs with contracts for difference the benefits to business could range between £0.4 billion to £0.6 billion per year depending on the final choices made on a capacity mechanism. In terms of the impact on energy bills, over the period of assessment (2010 to 2030), medium sized businesses could see a fall in energy bills of between 1% to 2% and large energy intensive businesses could see falls of between 2% to 3% relative to the case without the EMR policies.
	The EMR White Paper IA can be found at the following weblink:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/policy-legislation/EMR/2180-emr-impact-assessment.pdf
	In addition, the Government intend to shortly announce a package of measures to reduce the impact of government policy on electricity costs for energy intensive manufacturers whose international competitiveness is most affected by our energy and climate change policies, and to support them in becoming more energy and carbon efficient where it would be cost effective for them to do so.

Energy: Meters

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to include in the procurement process for smart meters trials to ensure the (a) fitness for purpose, (b) coverage and (c) value for money of the candidate technologies; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The purpose of the procurement processes for the data and communication services is to evaluate the technical capability and value for money of proposed solutions. For communication services this will include assessing the proposed coverage of different technologies across Great Britain.
	The procurement will assess the level of technical risk presented by different solutions and will require bidders to prove that their proposals are technically sound. This may include evidence from studies and physical trials. Once the suppliers are on contract they will then be required to implement their solutions and conduct tests across all smart metering systems and industry to ensure that the end-to-end system is operationally robust before it is rolled out on a large scale.

Fuel Poverty: Suffolk

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of households were living in fuel poverty in (a) Babergh District and (b) Suffolk in (i) 1981, (ii) 1983, (iii) 1997 and (iv) 2010.

Gregory Barker: Sub-regional data are available only for 2006 and 2008 and are shown in the following table. Figures show the proportion of all households in that area that were fuel poor.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Babergh local authority Suffolk 
			 2006 13 13 
			 2008 16 15 
		
	
	Data are also available for 2003 from:
	www.fuelpovertyindicator.org.uk
	but this has not been produced on a consistent basis with that for 2006 and 2008.
	Data for 2009 will be published on 24 November at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/fuelpov_stats/regional/regional.aspx

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish his Department's consultation on the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 10 November 2011
	We expect to commence consultation on secondary legislation shortly.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely cost to energy companies of implementing systems to collect and distribute Green Deal payments.

Gregory Barker: We have made an estimate of £7.9 to £22.5 million, with a central estimate of £15.1 million, for the one-off cost to domestic electricity suppliers of implementing systems to collect and distribute Green Deal payments. These figures were derived from cost estimates supplied by energy companies.
	We have not made an estimate for non-domestic electricity suppliers as these are more likely to process Green Deal payments on a bespoke basis rather than using fully automated billing systems.

Heating

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of infra-red heating in reducing fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: We have made no assessment of the effectiveness of infrared heating in reducing fuel poverty.

Renewable Energy

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which renewable energy technology can be deployed fastest.

Gregory Barker: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Christopher Pincher) on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 40W.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost of delaying proposed cuts for feed-in tariffs until April 2012.

Gregory Barker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert), on 14 November 2011, Official Report, column 594W.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on small and medium-sized businesses arising from his planned changes to the feed-in tariff scheme.

Gregory Barker: The impact assessment supporting the consultation on Feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaic
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/fits-comp-review-p1/3416-fits-ia-solar-pv-draft.pdf
	does not estimate the specific impact on small and medium-sized businesses but it does set out the impact on the general level of employment as a result of the change to the feed-in tariffs.
	It estimates that 1,000 to 10,000 gross full-time employee jobs could be supported in this sector in the three years to 2014-15 under the proposals. This estimate relates to solar PV installations only and does not account for jobs created as a result of the proposed energy efficiency requirement.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 268W, on solar power: feed-in tariffs, at which stage of the feed-in tariffs (FITs) application process an installation becomes eligible for FITs payments; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the average time between the installation of a project and the point at which it becomes eligible for FITs payments.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 15 November 2011
	An installation becomes eligible for feed-in tariffs (FITs) from its eligibility date. The term “eligibility date” is defined in Condition 33 of the Standard Conditions of Electricity Supply Licences, and is the latter of either (a) the date on which the installation is commissioned; or (b) the date on which a valid application for FITs has been received by either Ofgem (in the case of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations with a declared net capacity of over 50kW) or a FIT licensee (in the case of solar PV installations with a declared net capacity of up to 50kW).
	Information from the Ofgem Central FITs Register shows that the average time between the commissioning of an installation and its eligibility date is 16.78 days. This is based on information for all installations registered for FITs with a commissioning date after 1 April 2010 and does not include extensions to accredited FIT installations.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the level of enterprise deaths in (a) the renewable sector and (b) the construction sector of changes to the timetable for applications for feed-in tariffs.

Gregory Barker: The Department does not hold relevant information on which to base any estimate of companies that will be forced to cease trading in the UK solar industry. The impact assessment accompanying the Government's consultation on feed-in tariffs (FITs) for solar photovoltaics (PV), available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/fits-comp-review-p1/3416-fits-IA-solar-pv-draft.pdf
	estimates that new solar PV installations will continue to come forward under the proposed changes to FITs for solar PV. The impact assessment does not estimate the specific impact of the proposed changes on the UK solar industry as a whole.

Solar Power

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many representations he has received opposing the development of solar photovoltaic sites.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 14 November 2011
	DECC receives a significant number of telephone inquiries, responses to consultation exercises and other pieces of correspondence. These will have included representations expressing concern or opposition to renewable energy developments, including solar photovoltaics. However, we do not collect data on this and could do so only at disproportionate cost. Local planning authorities may also have received representations on planning applications for individual developments, but we do not hold the details of these.

Solar Power

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the reductions in the cost of (a) solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing and (b) solar photovoltaic panel installation since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: The impact assessment supporting the Government's consultation on feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaics (PV) sets out estimates of PV installation costs for different sizes of installations. These estimates reflect both the costs of solar panels and costs of the installation process. They are based on a report from Cambridge Economic Policy Associates and Parsons Brinckerhoff which was published alongside the impact assessment and is available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/fits-comp-review-p1/3365-updates-to-fits-model-doc.pdf
	Overall, evidence shows that there has been at least a 30% fall in PV costs between April 2010 and summer 2011, and the latest indications are that the prices have continued to fall.

Solar Power: Brighton and Hove

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will meet representatives of Brighton Energy Co-operative to discuss the continuance of projects to install and operate four solar photovoltaic arrays in the Brighton and Hove area, which were planned on the basis of the current feed-in tariff rates.

Gregory Barker: My officials are working closely with communities to understand the impacts of the consultation on feed-in tariffs for solar PV, and would be happy to meet Brighton Energy Co-operative.
	I am also seeking to establish a small community contact group to ensure communities have a direct input into DECC policies as appropriate going forward.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons he was not present for the Urgent Question on feed-in tariffs on 31 October 2011.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 15 November 2011
	As I made clear in the House on 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 617, Ministers in the Department of Energy and Climate Change operate as a team. I have been leading on this issue, and the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), is very happy for me to do so.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the effects on the number of small and medium-sized enterprises of his planned changes to the feed-in tariff scheme for solar photovoltaic installations.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 15 November 2011
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question 80379 to the hon. Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker).

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect (a) on employment rates and (b) on investment in the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector of his Department's proposed reductions in solar PV tariffs; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The impact assessment supporting the consultation on FITs for solar PV:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/fits-comp-review-p1/3416-fits-IA-solar-pv-draft.pdf
	sets out the impact on the level of support and generation as a result of the change to the feed-in tariffs. It estimates that 1,000-10,000 gross Full-time equivalent could be supported in this sector in the three years to 2014-15 under the proposals. This estimate relates to solar PV installations only and does not account for jobs created as a result of the proposed energy efficiency requirement.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing solar photovoltaic feed-in tariffs by (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30 and (d) 40 per cent.; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: We have not made an assessment of the impact of reducing solar photovoltaic (PV) tariffs by set proportions. The proposed solar PV tariffs set out in the consultation on feed-in tariffs for solar PV target a rate of return on capital of approximately 4.5-5% for well-sited installations, in line with intentions at the outset of the FITs scheme.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the consultation on Comprehensive Review Phase 1—Tariffs for Solar Photovoltaic, 31 October 2011, paragraph 49, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) members of the public and (b) organisations committed to the installation of solar photovoltaic who will not be able to meet the 12 December eligibility date.

Gregory Barker: It is difficult to ascertain with any degree of certainty the number of individuals or organisations that have committed to installing solar photovoltaic (PV) who would not be able to meet the reference date of before 12 December 2011 to continue to receive the current tariffs, pending the outcome of the consultation.
	Our present estimate is that by 12 December 2011, a total of approximately 130,000 solar PV installations will be eligible for feed-in tariffs (FITs). This estimate is however uncertain and depends on the actual rate of growth between now and 12 December.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of applications of closing applications for the solar photovoltaic panels scheme before the outcome of the consultation.

Gregory Barker: We have not proposed to close the scheme. We are consulting on a reference date of 12 December 2011 for installations with an eligibility date on or after the reference date to receive the new lower tariff, pending the outcome of the consultation in April 2012. As the consultation explains, we expect that those who make the decision to go ahead with their installation will still receive a rate of return of 4.5-5% on their investment.
	In the impact assessment published alongside the consultation document:
	www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/fits_comp_rev1/fits_comp_rev1.aspx
	we assume that pre-12 December take-up would be 20% higher than normal. However, this estimate is uncertain and depends on actual growth between now and 12 December.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what budget his Department has allocated for exemptions to the proposed implementation date for reduced solar photovoltaic feed-in tariffs.

Gregory Barker: There are no specific budget allocations for any exemptions. The Government are currently consulting on proposals to reduce the feed-in tariffs (FITs) for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. The proposals are for new tariffs to come in force on 1 April 2012, and that, apart from the proposed multi-installation tariff, they should apply from that date to all new PV installations which become eligible for FITs on or after 12 December 2011.
	The consultation seeks views on the tariffs and on the proposed approach to implementing them, and closes on 23 December 2011. All representations made will be considered before the policy is finalised.

Warm Front Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people have been employed to deliver the Warm Front policy in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: Over the last five years DECC has maintained a core workforce of three-five policy officials working on Warm Front.
	During this period, Carillion Energy Services (formerly Eaga) has maintained a core workforce of approximately 350 staff consistently employed on Warm Front service provision. In addition, a number of support functions across Carillion Energy Services business such as IT, procurement and HR management would have employed 200-300 staff at any one time.
	A number of key services to the Warm Front scheme including installation services are provided by sub-contractors. An estimated average of between 2,500 to 3,000 personnel have been employed over the last five years to deliver these scheme service.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Armed Forces: Electoral Register

David Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to ensure that members of the armed forces are (a) registered to vote and (b) registered for proxy and postal voting when deployed overseas under his plans for individual voter registration.

Mark Harper: The Government are committed to maximising the number of members of the armed forces who are registered to vote ahead of the transition to individual electoral registration (IER).
	The Ministry of Defence is working closely with the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office to help service personnel and their families understand their options for registering to vote and how they can vote. Extensive information campaigns are held to encourage service personnel and their families to register to vote.
	Electors who are registered on the basis of service declarations before the move to IER will remain on the register and will not need to register again under IER until their service declaration expires. This will maximise the numbers registered. Postal and proxy voting will also remain available to those service voters.
	In terms of ensuring members of the armed forces are registered for proxy and postal voting, the Government have already announced plans to extend ‘emergency’ proxy voting (the ability to submit a last-minute proxy application between the sixth day before a poll and polling day) to those who are deployed at short notice before an election.
	In addition, we have published draft legislative provisions to extend the electoral timetable for UK parliamentary elections from 17 to 25 working days, and will make a corresponding change for the by-elections timetable, to take effect in time for the next scheduled general election in 2015. These provisions will have particular benefits for service personnel stationed outside the UK as they will allow more time for the dispatch and return of postal votes to overseas locations.

Electoral Register

Wayne David: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what consultation meetings Ministers have had to discuss the Government’s White Paper on Individual Electoral Registration.

Mark Harper: Ministers from the Cabinet Office have met with the following organisations to discuss the Individual Electoral Registration White Paper. These are:
	Electoral Commission
	Electoral Reform Society
	Liberty
	NO2ID
	Big Brother Watch
	Experian
	Kevan Collins, chief executive, London borough of Tower Hamlets
	Association of Electoral Administrators.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Bedfordshire

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships were delivered in South West Bedfordshire constituency in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2009-10 academic years.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows the number of Apprenticeship Programme Starts in South West Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency, in 2009/10 (final data) and 2010/11 (provisional data).
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship starts in South West Bedfordshire constituency, 2009/10 (final data) and 2010/11 (provisional data) 
			 South West Bedfordshire Number 
			 2009/10 (final) 440 
			 2010/11 (provisional) 670 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Geography information is based upon the home postcode of the learner. 3. Provisional estimates for 2010/11 can not be compared with final figures for earlier years. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27 October 2011:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current

Bell Pottinger Group

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) political advisers in his Department have met representatives of (i) Bell Pottinger Group or (ii) each of its subsidiaries in the last five years; on what dates any such meetings took place; and what was discussed.

Edward Davey: Ministers' and the Permanent Secretary's meetings with external organisations are published every quarter on the Department's website which can be accessed at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/transparency/staff
	The remaining information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate expense.

Business

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what programmes his Department has that support entrepreneurship; what the objectives are of each programme; and what the planned annual expenditure is of each programme during the comprehensive spending review period.

Mark Prisk: The Department has a range of activity which supports entrepreneurship, the budgets for which are set annually to allow the flexibility to respond to priorities across the BIS agenda. The forecast expenditure for our main enterprise-related activity in 2011-12 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 SME finance including:  
			 (1) Venture Capital Investment—Enterprise Capital Funds (ECFs) are the Department's principal instrument for providing private sector investors with access to Government co-funding for investment in small businesses. The spending review made a £200 million commitment to support ECFs. (1) (,2)66,000,000 
			 (2) Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG)—created to facilitate additional bank lending to viable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that lack the security or proven track record with which to secure a normal commercial loan. In 2011-12, the Department has provided banks with scope to provide £600 million of guaranteed lending. The EFG will continue until 2014-15, guaranteeing, subject to demand, up to £2 billion in additional lending. (2)— 
			   
			 Business improvement including:  
			 (1) Business Coaching for Growth—providing high growth potential SMEs with the advice and support that will enable them to realise that potential. 10,100,000 
			 (2) Business Link Helpline—a telephone service to help businesses who cannot find the information they need on the web, or who are not connected to the internet, to get access to the information they need to start and grow their businesses. (2)— 
			 (3) Mentoring—BIS is working with the private sector to develop a network of at least 40,000 experienced business mentors. This includes working with the British Bankers Association (BBA) to develop and expand the new mentoring portal, Mentorsme.co.uk, which now provides access to around 11,000 mentors. The Department has also provided a grant to Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) for the recruitment and training of 10,000 volunteer business mentors from business representative bodies. (2)— 
			   
			 Projects to help promote a more entrepreneurial culture including:  
			 (1) Grant given to the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs to build a sustainable national infrastructure to develop and drive forward student enterprise societies across higher and further education institutions, expanding enterprise societies into over 90 English universities and at least 160 further education colleges by 2015. 2,300,000 
			 (2) Supporting work to assist schools both with online resources to help develop school businesses and in accessing local enterprise champions and role models. (2)— 
			 (3) Grant given to Premier League Charitable Fund to develop a sustainable Premier League Enterprise Academy model, enabling Premier League football clubs to foster enterprise among young people and principally in deprived areas. (2)— 
			 (4) Web Exploitation—piloting a series of workshops to enhance the skills of SMEs in making greater use of the internet and associated technologies to boost productivity and growth. (2)— 
			 (5) National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education—to build a sustainable infrastructure to enable higher and further education institutions to better support entrepreneurship. (2)— 
			   
			 Queens Awards for Enterprise  
			 The Queen's Awards for Enterprise reward individuals who have played a significant and outstanding role in promoting a more enterprising culture. The awards celebrate a wide range of achievement, from exemplifying effective novel business methods to outstanding leadership in promoting the acquisition of key enterprise skills. 500,000 
			   
			 Total 78,900,000 
			 (1) Capital (2) Indicates brace

Business: Loans

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England received under the Project Merlin agreement to date.

Mark Prisk: As part of the Project Merlin agreement to make available £190 billion of new credit to businesses in 2011, including £76 billion of lending to small and medium-sized businesses, the banks agreed to make gross lending data available to the Bank of England for publication in aggregate on a quarterly basis.
	As published by the Bank of England on 14 November 2011, the five ‘Project Merlin’ banks—Barclays, HSBC, LBG, RBS and Santander—have extended £56.1 billion worth of lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK up to the end of Q3 in 2011.
	The Bank of England does not publish figures under the Merlin agreement broken down by region or nation.

Business: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses in Northern Ireland are classified as (a) large, (b) medium-sized and (c) small.

Mark Prisk: Estimates of the number of large, medium and small-sized businesses in Northern Ireland at the start of 2011 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Business size band 
			  Number of small businesses (0 to 49 employees) Number of medium-sized businesses (50 to 249 employees) Number of large businesses (250 or more employees) All private sector businesses 
			 Number of private sector businesses in Northern Ireland 121,075 855 135 122,065 
			 Source: Business Population Estimates for the UK and Regions (2011 Edition), Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Business: Regulation

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) full-time and (b) temporary staff in his Department are working on the Red Tape Challenge; and what estimate he has made of the required staffing level in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 10 November 2011
	The Red Tape Challenge is led by a joint Cabinet Office-BIS team, which includes five full-time BIS officials. In addition, the Departments (including BIS) that are responsible for the regulations involved in a ‘theme' manage and resource their own process. No budget has yet been assigned to the programme beyond the end of this financial year.

Debts: Advisory Services

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many on-site compliance visits have been carried out by the Office of Fair Trading in relation to compliance with its Debt Management Guidance since September 2010;
	(2)  how many of the debt management firms cautioned by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in September 2010 are still operating and not complying with the OFT’s Debt Management Guidance;
	(3)  how many of the firms found in September 2010 to be failing to comply with debt management guidance issued by the Office of Fair Trading are still in possession of their consumer credit licences.

Edward Davey: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has undertaken 48 onsite visits since September 2010, mostly to those applying for new consumer credit licences to cover debt management activities. The OFT is scrutinising these with particular care in light of the non-compliance identified in its compliance review.
	Of the 129 businesses warned in the compliance review, 53 businesses have exited the market and no longer hold a consumer credit licence. The OFT has been or will be in contact with the remaining 76 businesses to discuss their compliance with the OFT’s Debt Management Guidance and if necessary will take enforcement action.
	In addition, following OFT intervention, 69 businesses have exited the debt management market since September 2010. This larger figure results from enforcement action following the warnings issued to 129 debt management firms combined with ongoing action outside of the review.

Consultants

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which external consultants are advising his Department on the Red Tape Challenge; and what the (a) length of each such arrangement and (b) cost to the public purse is in each case.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 14 November 2011
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 November 2011, Official Report, column 460W.

Recruitment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for how many posts his Department has used (a) Gatenby Sanderson or (b) Odgers for recruitment purposes in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was created in June 2009 following the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	Since that date BIS has completed eight separate recruitment exercises using executive search companies procured from the Cabinet Office call off contract. For each recruitment exercise all executive search companies on Lot 1 of the Cabinet Office call off contract were invited to tender and the successful company was selected following a sift of those who responded. The decision on which company to appoint would be based on a combination of their grasp of the brief, knowledge of the sector, timetable, and cost.
	Since June 2009 Gatenby Sanderson have been employed by BIS once and Odgers Berndtson have been employed twice.

EU Grants and Loans

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make representations to the European Commission to prevent (a) constraints on beneficial investments, including economic infrastructure and (b) other constraints being placed on the spending of regional development funding provided by the EU.

Edward Davey: The Structural Funds Regulations for 2007-13, Member States' National Strategic Reference Framework and Operational Programmes set out the framework for eligible investment. Within this framework, the Government believe that member states should have the flexibility to identify their own challenges, set their own objectives and align the structural funds with their own policies and programmes in a tailor-made way. In the current programme the Government are currently seeking views of the European Commission on the maximum flexibility that the current European Regional Development Fund regulations will allow to support broadband deployment.
	The Government are currently considering the detail of the Commission's draft regulations for 2014-20 and its implications for the UK so cannot yet comment in respect of proposals for future programmes.

Export Credit Guarantees: Arms Trade

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make a statement on the availability of export credit guarantees for the defence manufacturing industry; and how many companies benefited from such support in each of the last three years.

Edward Davey: Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) support is available for defence exports.
	The number of exporters that have obtained support from ECGD for defence exports in each of the last three full financial years was as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2008-09 1 
			 2009-10 2 
			 2010-11 2

Government Departments: Public Consultation

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will review the guidance for Government consultations.

Edward Davey: There are no plans to review the Government’s “Code of Practice on Consultation” at this time.

Green Construction Board

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what dates the Green Construction Board has met; who attended each meeting; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the agenda for each meeting.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 10 November 2011
	The Department released a press notice (pn363) following the first meeting of the Green Construction Board on 24 October. This set out the full membership of the board. The agenda for first meeting was characterised by process issues such as working group coverage and governance. When working groups have been finalised by the board they will be published on the BIS website.

Higher Education: Foreign Students

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of higher education places which are filled by foreign students.

David Willetts: In the 2009/10 academic year, there were 2,493,415 postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments to full-time and part-time courses at UK higher education institutions. Of these enrolments 125,045 (5%) were European Union (EU—excluding the UK) domiciles and 280,760 (11%) were non-EU overseas domiciles. (Domicile refers to the country of a student's permanent or home address prior to entry to their course). This is the latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Figures for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from January 2012. Further information on student domicile is available at this link to the HESA website:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_ content&task=view&id=1943&ltemid=161
	Non-EU students are recruited on top of, or in addition to, the places offered to EU and UK students. Non-EU students compete amongst themselves for these places and there is no cap on the fees that they can be charged, which are generally set at a level to cover the full cost of teaching.

Nuclear Power: Job Creation

Malcolm Wicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had on the potential for creating manufacturing jobs through the building of new nuclear power stations and the associated socio-economic benefits of any job creation.

Mark Prisk: Ministers and officials in this Department and the Department for Energy and Climate Change have regular conversations with the energy and nuclear industry to ensure that the delivery of nuclear new-build can happen to time and that opportunities are realised. Central to this is the Nuclear Development Forum.
	New nuclear build in the UK has the potential to afford considerable opportunities for manufacturing firms for both the domestic and global market. The Government support manufacturers, where appropriate, to enable them to realise these opportunities; central to this support are the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, the Manufacturing Advisory Service, and the work Her Majesty's Government (HMG) are undertaking with the Nuclear Industry Association.
	It is also important that manufacturers have the right skills available in order to grow and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is providing match funding for the extension of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear to ensure that manufacturing skills are properly accommodated.
	The Government have recently provided some funding through the Regional Growth Fund to three manufacturers to help them realise potential opportunities.

Nuclear Power: Job Creation

Malcolm Wicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he has given to the nuclear power industry and associated manufacturing and construction as part of the Growth Review; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Infrastructure development—including the UK's energy system—has a key role to play in driving growth and is being looked at within the current phase of Growth Review work. The Government's vision is to deliver a secure, low carbon and affordable energy system. Nuclear power has a part to play in fulfilling this vision as set out in the Government's National Policy Statements and is being further considered as part of the Growth Review work on energy infrastructure, led by Infrastructure UK. Announcements on infrastructure will be made as part of the overall package of Growth Review announcements on 29 November 2011.

Overseas Trade: Environment Protection

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what measures his Department is taking to ensure that UK Trade and Investment and the Export Credits Guarantee Department support UK companies that develop and export green technologies around the world.

Mark Prisk: In May 2011, the Government published “Britain Open for Business” which set out the UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) five-year strategy. This included a green export campaign, creation of an export pipeline of innovative green technologies and services and close working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) overseas network to promote green growth.
	The green export campaign positions the UK as a leading provider of low carbon solutions in markets where there are strong, clear commercial opportunities. The campaign promotes the UK’s low carbon capabilities to international buyers and investors. This includes activities for businesses, such as trade missions, trade shows and exhibitions both overseas and in the UK.
	UKTI and the FCO work together using their respective overseas networks to promote green growth. This includes identifying new opportunities for UK businesses stemming from international agreements and overseas Governments’ policies in carbon reduction.
	The Export Credits Guarantee Department is working closely with UKTI in actively reaching out to exporters of green technologies so that they are aware of the products available to provide them with credit protection and facilitate the provision of finance.

Overseas Trade: Russia

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on the ability of UK businesses to trade with Russia of levels of corruption in that country.

Mark Prisk: Russia remains an attractive target for exporters and investors but one that requires research and commitment. It is an important and complicated market with favourable cross-sector opportunities, some unique in scale. UK exports to Russia rose by 48% in the first eight months of 2011 to £2.9 billion. The Russian Government's economic modernisation and infrastructure development agenda, underpinned by the appetite of 140 million consumers for quality services and goods produces a need for international expertise and products.
	HM Government recognise that there is an issue with corruption and that it damages Russia's economic development. Assistance and advice is available to help companies to understand the issues. Advice can be found on the business anti-corruption service website of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills:
	http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/europe-central-asia/russia/
	UKTI also provides support through the overseas business risk service:
	http://www.ukti.gov.uk/export/countries/europe/easterneurope/russia/overseasbusinessrisk.html

Post Offices: ICT

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that local post offices are enabled to install scanning equipment so that printed ID photographs can be supplied and scanned as a digital image for driving licences and passports.

Edward Davey: Decisions on the range of specialised equipment and the services to be made available at individual post office branches are an operational matter for the Post Office, taking account of the service provision requirements of their clients. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the managing director of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices: Photography

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess the effect on the revenue levels of private sector high street photographers of establishing digital photographic facilities in selected post offices; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: It is not feasible to undertake a study such as that proposed. There are many operators providing photographic facilities on high streets across Britain who provide their services for a range of costs, a variety of different purposes and through a number of business models.
	The recently introduced technology in 752 post offices offers customers the choice to digitally capture and transmit their image (and other data changes) as part of the application process for the 10-year driving licence. When renewal for photographic licences commenced in 2008, the size of the photographic market increased by 2.5 million units a year. Customers are able to choose whether to submit their photographic application online, at a post office, or via a paper application with an attached ‘wet’ photograph, which requires subsequent scanning at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) on receipt. Customers continue to have the option of choosing how they apply for a 10-year driving licence, with their choice driven by personal preference, cost, and convenience.

Sir Andrew Cahn

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions Sir Andrew Cahn met (a) Huawei and (b) other Chinese companies when he was Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The information is as follows:
	(a) In his role as chief executive officer (CEO) of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), from our records, Sir Andrew Cahn did not meet Huawei on a bilateral basis.
	(b) In the normal course of his work, Sir Andrew Cahn could be expected to attend or host a number of events at which Chinese companies would be present. To analyse all of UKTI's records, over his five year tenure as CEO of UKTI, would involve reviewing some 850,000 interactions, to identify every Chinese company and whether Sir Andrew was present. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Sir Andrew Cahn

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what (a) dates and (b) occasions (i) he, (ii) Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint and (iii) other Ministers in his Department in their official capacity have (A) met with, (B) spoken to and (C) corresponded with Sir Andrew Cahn since he ceased to hold the position of chief executive of UK Trade and Investment; what issues were discussed on each such occasion; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk), met Sir Andrew on 4 April 2011 and the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Baroness Wilcox, met him on 25 January 2011. The Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Lord Green of Hurtspierpoint, met Sir Andrew frequently at events they both attended and spoke to him on the telephone on 26 January 2011. There is no record of the discussions and there has been no correspondence between Ministers and Sir Andrew.

Sky Lanterns

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on the risks posed by sky lanterns; and whether he has any plans to regulate their use.

Edward Davey: We have received several representations on the risks posed by sky lanterns, namely, from the Women's Farming and Food Union (WFU), the National Farmers Union (NFU) and members of the public. Their main concerns are of fire damage to property and farm machinery, littering and harm to livestock. These are mainly issues for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	We believe that current consumer safety legislation, namely the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 are sufficient to remove any sky lanterns that may pose a risk to consumers including those which are of inferior quality, are poorly labelled or contain insufficient safety instructions.

Supermarkets: Ombudsman

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to establish a groceries code adjudicator.

Edward Davey: The draft Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill has undergone pre-legislative scrutiny, and Parliament published the Government's response to the BIS Select Committee report on 15 October 2011. We now aim to introduce a Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Trade Unions: Finance

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consider introducing (a) legislation and (b) guidance to require trade unions to include on trade union membership forms (i) details of individual membership monies being directed into political funds and (ii) an opt in or opt out option in relation to payments being made to political funds.

Edward Davey: I have no current plans to introduce further legislation or guidance to trade unions on their management of political funds. The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 allows individuals to opt out of contributing to the union political fund at any stage. Advice is available about this on the direct gov website and use of political funds is regulated and reported on publicly by the certification officer.

Training: Internet

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects to achieve his target for the number of mentors available to businesses using the Mentorsme programme.

Mark Prisk: Mentorsme.co.uk now provides access to over 60 mentoring organisations and around 11,000 mentors and this number continues to grow. Our aim is to develop a network of over 40,000 business mentors but it is equally important that we ensure that the quality of mentoring provision is high.
	Just last week, I announced new grant funding of £1.2 million to recruit and train 10,000 volunteer business mentors via the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) in the new “Get Mentoring” initiative. This is on top of the 5,000 mentors already announced by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), as part of the package of support for female entrepreneurs on 4 November. The launch of this initiative marks another important step towards growing the number of mentors and will bring the total number of business mentors available through the mentorsme to at least 26,000 by the end of September 2012.
	We are working with SFEDI, trade and business representative bodies, a number of mentoring organisations, the British Bankers Association (BBA) and private business to encourage more experienced business people to become volunteer mentors.
	We must be careful not to compromise on the quality of the mentors available simply in order to achieve this target more quickly. I am not going to set arbitrary targets and timescales. I do not believe that setting specific timescales is necessarily the right or most effective way of achieving our objectives. This should be demand-led, not controlled by Government.

Training: Internet

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many mentors were signed up to the Mentorsme programme on the latest date for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: Mentorsme now provides access to over 60 mentoring organisations and around 11,000 mentors and this number will continue to grow, including the addition of 15,000 small and medium-sized enterprises mentors for whom I announced funding for training last week.
	I hope that I can rely on the hon. Member to help us in promoting the benefits of mentoring within his own constituency and encouraging more volunteer business mentors to come forward.

Unfair Dismissal: Employment Tribunals Service

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the number of employment tribunal applications of the change of the length of the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims from one year to two years.

Edward Davey: The change in length of the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from one year to two years is part of a set of measures which together will substantially reduce the total number of employment tribunal claims, including claims for unfair dismissal.
	Taking into account the impact of these other measures, the additional reduction in claims for unfair dismissal as a result of lengthening the qualifying period is estimated to lie between 1,600 and 2,400 per annum.
	A full explanation of how this estimate has been produced is contained in the forthcoming Resolving Workplace Disputes final stage impact assessment, due to be published shortly.

CABINET OFFICE

Big Society Capital

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate the sums from dormant bank accounts to be distributed in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England by Big Society Capital.

Nick Hurd: Big Society Capital is an independent company and will make its own investment decisions based on the extent to which potential investments support its social objects, and meet its investment criteria.
	In making its investments, we expect Big Society Capital to give due regard to geographical spread, and to the fact that capital received through the dormant accounts scheme will be from the English portion. It would not, however, be appropriate or effective for Big Society Capital to allocate specific sums of money for investment on the basis of geography over quality and social impact.

Business: Middlesbrough

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate the number of businesses that have (a) opened and (b) closed in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency since May 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for the estimate of the number of businesses that have (a) opened and (b) closed in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency since May 2010.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births and deaths are available from the ONS release on Business Demography at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	However, the latest statistics relate to the calendar year 2009; the results for 2010 will be released on 6th December 2011.

Big Society

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  whether his Department has issued guidance on facilitating the involvement of people who are unable or unwilling to engage in normal social and civic life in the Big Society;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the role of the Big Society in combating social exclusion.

Nick Hurd: No explicit assessment or guidance on the Big Society and disadvantaged or unengaged groups has been made or issued by the Cabinet Office to date.
	However, the Government recognise that supporting the most disadvantaged is a key part of the Big Society approach. This focuses on enabling all groups in society to be able to play their part and thrive, through putting more power back into people's hands by opening up public services, promoting social action and empowering local communities.
	These priorities are reflected in the Office for Civil Society's programmes, including, for example: the Community First and Community Organiser programmes which focus on areas of high deprivation and low social capital, National Citizen Service, Big Society Capital and the Big Society and Social Justice Project.

Social Exclusion

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on tackling social exclusion in each year of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: For each year of the operation of the Social Exclusion Task Force in Cabinet Office, its budget was published as part of the supply estimates with expenditure detailed in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts available at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts

Big Society Capital

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the amount of funding from Big Society Capital that will go to projects that combat social exclusion.

Nick Hurd: The purpose of the Big Society Bank is to support the development of a social investment market that will increase the opportunities of charities, social enterprises and community organisations to access finance. Many of these organisations do valuable work combating social exclusion by, for example, providing training and employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups. Big Society Capital will invest in intermediaries that provide financial services and support to charities, social enterprises and other civil society organisations. It is therefore likely that a considerable proportion of Big Society Capital's investments will ultimately help to combat social exclusion.
	Big Society Capital is an independent company which will make its own investment decisions based on the extent to which potential investments support its social objects and meet its investment criteria.

Immigrants: EU Nationals

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many EU nationals whose original country of birth or origin was not an EU member state have entered the UK in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many EU nationals whose original country of birth or origin was not an EU member state have entered the UK in each of the last five years (82113).
	The Office for National Statistics produces estimates of long-term international migration, primarily based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). The IPS is a continuous voluntary sample survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics. The latest figures available are for 2009 and these are shown in the table below. Final estimates for 2010 are due for publication on 24 November 2011.
	
		
			 Long-term immigration to the UK of people who are EU citizens but who were not born in the EU, 2005-09 
			  Estimate SE% (1) 
			 2005 9,000 30 
			 2006 6,000 34 
			 2007 10,000 39 
			 2008 12,000 30 
			 2009 10,000 33 
			 (1) SE% = Standard error percentage Source: International Passenger Survey (IPS), ONS 
		
	
	Standard error percentages (SE%) indicate the robustness of each estimate. A migration figure with a standard error percentage greater than 25% is not considered to be reliable for practical purposes. Figures for combined years may provide more reliable estimates. In this case, the estimated number of EU citizens who were not born in the EU, coming to the UK in 2005 and 2006 was 16,000 (22 SE%), and from 2007 to 2009 was 32,000 (20 SE%).

Social Exclusion Task Force

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the closure of the Social Exclusion Task Force on the Government's ability to tackle social exclusion.

Nick Hurd: No formal assessment of the impact of the closure of the Social Exclusion Task Force has been made.
	However fairness is central to this Government's agenda and the important work initiated by the Social Exclusion Task Force is being taken forward across Government Departments.
	The Social Justice Cabinet Committee, chaired by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) and composed of Ministers from across relevant Government Departments, is focused on co-ordinating policy on poverty, equality and social justice.
	Furthermore, this year we have published a cross-government social mobility strategy and announced the new Troubled Families Unit in the Department for Communities and Local Government to better address the needs of the 120,000 most disadvantaged families.

Social Exclusion Task Force

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the budget was of the Social Exclusion Task Force in each year of its operation; and how many staff it employed in each year.

Nick Hurd: For each year of the operation of the Social Exclusion Task Force in Cabinet Office (October 2006 to September 2010), its budget was published as part of the supply estimates.
	The following table shows staff employed in the Social Exclusion Task Force over the above period. At September 2010 21 staff remained, falling to zero over the following months.
	
		
			 Social Exclusion Taskforce headcount figures 
			  Headcount FTE 
			 2006-07 18.00 17.21 
			 2007-08 23.00 22.61 
			 2008-09 26.00 25.51 
			 2009-10 26.00 25.86 
			 2010-11 24.00 23.50 
			 2011-12 0.00 0.00

HEALTH

Winter Pressures: NHS

Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that the NHS is prepared for winter pressures.

Anne Milton: The national health service and social care systems are well prepared for winter. Our ‘winterwatch' summary was first published on 17 November. It showed higher flu vaccination uptake, and the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), announced additional Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) capacity, which will be in place by December. There is always more pressure on the national health service during winter. This year will be no different, but the preparations are in place.

Hospital Closures

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations his Department has received on local hospital service closures.

Simon Burns: The reconfiguration of local NHS services is a matter for the local national health service. We expect there to be a rigorous local assessment of any proposals to close hospital services against the four criteria announced last May by the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley).

Older People

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of resources provided for the care of older people.

Paul Burstow: The Government have committed an additional £7.2 billion to support social care over four years up to 2015. This is on top of £6.8 billion of existing departmental grant funding.
	Taken together these funds along with a rigorous approach to quality and productivity improvement provide local councils with sufficient resources to protect access to care for older people.

Private Finance Initiative Payments

Claire Perry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to assist hospitals with the cost of PFI payments.

Andrew Lansley: A Treasury review identified savings opportunities of up to 5% on annual payments in national health service private finance initiative (PFI) schemes. The lessons learned from the PFI savings pilot will be applied to all schemes in the PFI pipeline. The last Government left a £50 billion post-dated cheque to pay for their hospital building programme.
	Much of it was unaffordable and poor value for money. That was the Labour legacy. We are dealing with it, including the 22 NHS trusts who identified that this was a constraint on future sustainability; and a smaller number for whom their PFI hospital is not affordable.

Carers’ Breaks

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding he allocated to (a) Manchester and (b) Trafford primary care trust for carers' breaks in 2011-12.

Paul Burstow: The Government committed an additional £400 million of national health service funding up to 2015 to support more carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities.
	This funding has been allocated to primary care trusts through their baselines. It is for local commissioners working with local councils and carers organisations to agree investment priorities to meet the needs of carers.

Monitor: Finance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of Monitor from 2013.

Simon Burns: The operating cost of Monitor during the year 2013-14 has not yet been agreed.
	The Department has published in the impact assessment of 8 September that the estimated cost of Monitor, once it has taken on its extra functions in 2015-16, would be £82 million.

Age UK: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has allocated to Age UK in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Paul Burstow: The Department has allocated the following funding to Age UK:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010-11 833,370 
			 2011-12 703,435 
		
	
	It should be noted that funding for 2011-12 represents the latest allocations and additional funding could be allocated in the remaining months of the financial year.
	Age UK has received funding from the Department for the role it undertakes as a departmental strategic partner and as a National Agent for the Opportunities for Volunteering scheme. Age UK is also funded to deliver a regional development support role for some local involvement networks. It has also received funding under the Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development scheme and the reaching out to Carers Innovation Fund.

Asthma: Finance

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has made available for tackling asthma in each of the last five years.

Paul Burstow: Funding for national health service services is devolved to primary care trusts through the resource allocation process and is not ring fenced. We have estimates of the cost of asthma services from programme budgeting data for 2006-07 to 2009-10: information was not disaggregated to the level of asthma in earlier years, and is not yet available for 2010-11.
	The estimates given include treatment and prescription costs, but not prevention or general practitioner costs, and are as follows:
	
		
			  £ billion 
			 2006-07 0.85 
			 2007-08 0.97 
			 2008-09 1.04 
			 2009-10 1.08

Blood: Donors

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2011, Official Report, column 1185W, on blood: donors, what 
	(1)  new information and analysis has become available since the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs formulated its initial recommendations;
	(2)  evidence the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) is considering in addition to the evidence from Imperial college; and which research groups have provided evidence to ACDP.

Anne Milton: References to all the evidence from various research groups available to the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs and to the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens are listed in this publicly available paper at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@ab/documents/digitalasset/dh_130152.pdf

Blood: Donors

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2011, Official Report, column 1185W, on blood: donors, 
	(1)  when the Advisory Committee on Blood, Tissues and Organs will start considering new information and analysis on fresh frozen plasma in 2012; and when he expects its conclusions to be available;
	(2)  whether there is a timetable for when the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs must decide whether its original recommendations should be reviewed.

Anne Milton: The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs will provide advice after the next meeting on 17 January 2012. A summary of the meeting will be published on the Committee's website shortly thereafter.

Blood: Donors

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2011, Official Report, column 1185W, on blood: donors, whether the Government plans to publish the impact assessment on the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs 2009 recommendations in advance of any new conclusion being reached by the Committee.

Anne Milton: Should any advice be received from the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs an impact assessment will be prepared and presented to Ministers for consideration with that advice. The impact assessment will be published on the Department's website when that consideration is complete.

Brain Cancer

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department provided to each research study it funded on site-specific brain tumours in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Simon Burns: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation Programme is funding a project on intraoperative multispectral imaging of brain tumours. Spend on this project was £107,420 in 2009-10 and £107,420 in 2010-11.
	NIHR biomedical research centre expenditure on research infrastructure for brain tumour research was £148,218 in 2009-10 and £567,838 in 2010-11.
	The NIHR is also currently funding a £937,149 clinician scientist award on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to characterise invasive phenotypes in cerebral gliomas, and a £130,833 healthcare scientist award,
	‘Towards improved outcomes for teenagers and young adults with cancer through the development and evaluation of novel MR methods for non-invasive diagnosis and characterisation of brain tumours’.
	The NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) is currently hosting 17 trials and other well-designed studies in cancers of the brain and nervous system that are in set-up or recruiting patients. Details can be found on the UK CRN portfolio database at:
	http://public.ukcrn.org.uk/search

Cancer: Clinical Trials

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of (a) pancreatic and (b) all cancer patients are able to access clinical trials during their treatment;
	(2)  what steps he has taken to increase the access to clinical trials for pancreatic cancer patients.

Paul Burstow: In 2010-11, the equivalent of 19.8% of new incident cancer cases were recruited into studies hosted by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cancer Research Network (NCRN), representing a fivefold increase in recruitment in the decade since the network was established.
	In 2010-11, a total of 13 pancreatic cancer studies hosted by the NCRN were open to recruitment, and 687 patients were recruited to them. In addition, the NIHR funds 15 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres in partnership with Cancer Research UK. Since 2007, these centres have supported 23 pancreatic cancer studies.
	The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Upper Gastrointestinal Clinical Studies Group is dedicated to developing a portfolio of research studies in this area and has a Pancreatic Cancer Subgroup. This subgroup has developed a number of internationally-run trials.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting period is to see a chronic fatigue specialist in (a) East Lancashire and (b) nationally.

Paul Burstow: Information on waiting times to see a chronic fatigue/myalgic encephalomyelitis specialist is not collected centrally.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many chronic fatigue specialists there are based in East Lancashire.

Simon Burns: This information is not collected centrally.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the (a) health, (b) social and (c) financial benefits of automatic enrolment of people with diabetes on a scheme such as the Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating diabetes management scheme for adults with diabetes. [R]

Paul Burstow: The Department has not made a formal assessment of the benefits of automatic enrolment of people with diabetes on a scheme such as the Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) diabetes management scheme for adults with diabetes.
	However, the benefits to patients and cost-effectiveness of the DAFNE scheme have been recognised through its Inclusion in the NHS Evidence Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention database. The database consists of real examples of how health and social care staff are improving quality and productivity across the National Health Service and social care.
	Provision of structured education for people with diabetes is in the Diabetes Quality Standard. It is for local NHS organisations to deliver comprehensive high-quality and safe diabetes services, appropriate to the needs of their populations.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that people with diabetes have adequate access to health care professionals to assist them with day-to-day management of their condition. [R]

Paul Burstow: Local health care organisations are in the best position to determine the work force needed to deliver safe and high-quality patient care for their local populations. We expect decisions on the commissioning and delivery of local services to be informed by clinical involvement and leadership.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) children, (b) adolescents, (c) young adults and (d) other adults were diagnosed with diabetes in each of the last five years. [R]

Paul Burstow: The Department does not collect this information. Using data from the National Diabetes Audit the following table gives an indication of the total registrations, grouped by age bands, over the past five years:
	
		
			  Registrations 
			 Age band 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 0-15 years 12,585 14,500 15,136 16,503 17,796 
			 16-24 years 11,679 17,856 20,007 22,977 26,063 
			 25 years + 631,689 1,189,445 1,388,432 1,618,929 1,886,126 
			 Notes: 1. The NDA does not have 100%, participation or coverage so the figures should be treated with caution. Growth in numbers of registrations in NDA needs to be assessed in the context of the growth in coverage for the audit. 2. Quality Outcomes Framework data is an aggregate return so does not contain the detail required to respond to this question. Source: National Diabetes Audit (NDA)

Diabetes: Health Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training he plans to provide to healthcare professionals to ensure that they offer a personalised programme of treatment for people with diabetes. [R]

Paul Burstow: The content and standard of health care training is the responsibility of the independent regulatory bodies for the professions concerned. Through their role as the custodians of standards in education and practice, these organisations are committed to ensuring high quality patient care is delivered by health professionals and that health care professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to deal with the problems and conditions they will encounter in practice.

Diabetes: Young People

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what nationwide arrangements his Department has put in place to support the provision of transitional care for adolescents and young adults with diabetes moving between paediatric and adult healthcare; [R]
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the difficulties faced by young people and adolescents with diabetes when moving from children's medical care services to adult medical care service; [R]
	(3)  what mechanism his Department has put in place to enable paediatric and adult health services to work together and share information about young people with diabetes to ensure an effective transition between paediatric and adult health services; [R]
	(4)  what support services his Department has put in place to enable paediatric and adult diabetes health services to engage with a patient with diabetes and their family from an early stage to assist with (a) the transition between the different health providers and (b) establishing good diabetes management behaviours; [R]
	(5)  what assessment his Department has made of each method and model for transitional care of young people and adolescents with diabetes; and whether his Department considers any one method or model to be more appropriate and effective; [R]
	(6)  what steps he has taken to ensure that all children and young people with diabetes have access to (a) a transitional care clinic and (b) a key worker to co-ordinate their treatment and transition between paediatric and adult care services; [R]
	(7)  how many specialised clinics there are providing transitional care for young people and adolescents with diabetes; [R]
	(8)  what steps he is taking to provide a comprehensive nationwide network of transitional care clinics for young people and adolescents with diabetes; [R]
	(9)  what assessment his Department has made of the (a) financial and (b) social effects of providing full transitional care to young people and adolescents with diabetes. [R]

Paul Burstow: The Department does not centrally collect information about specialised clinics providing transitional care for young people and adolescents with diabetes.
	However, we recognise the importance of effective transition between children's and adults' services. It is for local health service organisations to commission a comprehensive service for all people with diabetes, including adolescents and adults and those moving through transition. This is why, subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, Clinical Commissioning Groups, working in conjunction with Health and Wellbeing Boards, will be required to take account of their population's needs and commission and provide services accordingly.
	The National Service Framework for Diabetes, published in 2001, has a specific standard on the smooth transition of care from paediatric diabetes services to adult diabetes services, whether hospital or community-based, either directly or via a young people's clinic.
	There is also NHS Diabetes commissioning guidance for diabetes in children and young people, which states that transition services for young people:
	should be run by both adult and paediatric consultant diabetologists; and
	the care plan must be jointly reviewed and agreed with the patient (and carer, if appropriate)
	NHS Diabetes has also initiated the national Children and Young People network, to address unwarranted variation in services for this group, and to improve the care and treatment they receive. The national network constitutes 12 clinical champions roughly representing the strategic health authority regions across England, led, funded and coordinated by NHS Diabetes. A new piece of work is currently being scoped for introduction across the Network, which will look at supporting the transition from children to adult services, and at providing more individual care planning and supported self-care.

Diabetes: Young People

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the NHS arising from emergency and urgent medical treatment of young people and adolescents with diabetes who experience difficulty managing their condition; and if he will assess what the effect of provision of comprehensive transitional care services will be on the level of such costs. [R]

Paul Burstow: We do not collect this information centrally.

Diabetes: Young People

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what programmes equivalent to the Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating diabetes management scheme for adults with diabetes his Department has put into place to provide peer-led support and educational services for young adults and adolescents with diabetes; [R]
	(2)  what (a) educational, (b) peer assistance and (c) other services his Department makes available to young people and adolescents to assist them with creating a personal diabetes management routine. [R]

Paul Burstow: Local national health service organisations are responsible for providing comprehensive, high-quality and safe diabetes services appropriate to their local populations, Including diabetes management schemes in place to provide peer-led support and educational services for young adults and adolescents with diabetes.
	We are aware that such schemes, for example 'KICk-OFF', 'Cascade' and 'Getting Sorted', are being piloted and set up around the country by local national health service and other organisations. We look forward to seeing the evaluation and results of these schemes.

Diabetes: Young People

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to provide young people and adolescents with diabetes with information about their condition and how to manage it; and what (a) online guides, (b) telephone services, (c) apps and (d) other educational services his Department has developed in this area; [R]
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to support the establishment of educational services for young people and adolescents with diabetes which are staffed by other young people with the condition; and what consideration he has given to the form such support could take; [R]
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of establishing good diabetes management behaviours during childhood and adolescence on (a) the long-term health of children and adolescents and (b) costs incurred by the NHS in providing treatment of diabetes and diabetes-related issues. [R]

Paul Burstow: The NHS Operating Framework 2011-12 specifically states that primary care trusts should be commissioning the relevant structured education to support all people with diabetes.
	The best practice tariff being introduced soon for paediatric diabetes also includes a requirement for 24-hour support and advice to be available to patients and their families. Local national health service organisations are responsible for providing comprehensive, high-quality and safe diabetes services appropriate to their local populations, including providing information and education to people with diabetes about their condition and how to manage it.
	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on the diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes in children, young people and adults recommends that children and young people are offered a structured programme of education when they are newly diagnosed, and ongoing opportunities to access information, to help them manage their condition.
	Charities such as Diabetes UK and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation also provide information resources in different formats for people with diabetes.
	We also recognise the difficulties that some children and adolescents with diabetes have in accessing the support they need to manage their condition at school. The Department for Children, Schools and Families, in close liaison with the Department, issued guidance on “Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Setting” in November 2007. This guidance explains the roles and responsibilities of employers, parents and carers, governing bodies, head teachers, teachers and other staff and of local health services.
	The information is not collected centrally in a way that would allow assessments to be made of the effects of establishing good diabetes management behaviours during childhood.

Diabetes: Young People

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to co-ordinate the collection of information and medical history from young people and adolescents with diabetes to ensure that (a) the medical professionals treating them have access to all relevant information, (b) patients do not have to explain the details of their condition on each occasion and (c) duplication of data and appointments services is eliminated. [R]

Paul Burstow: In October 2010, we published a consultation document ‘Liberating the NHS: An Information Revolution’ setting out our plans to transform the way information is collected, controlled, accessed, analysed and used across the NHS and adult social care.
	The consultation closed earlier this year and we have published a summary of the consultation responses. We are using these, together with the outcome from the independent NHS Future Forum, to develop an Information Strategy—which we plan to publish in the winter.
	The strategy is looking at how information can be better used by and shared between health and care professionals to help ensure people experience safe, seamless and integrated care. This includes looking at how information (such as medical history) about an individual can be captured once at the point of care and then used many times across different care settings. This will help to create new opportunities for improved effectiveness, safety and a higher quality of care experienced by those using services, particularly for people who are regular users of services, for example people with diabetes.
	The NHS Future Forum has been undertaking further engagement on a number of key areas, including looking at how information can be made available to improve health, care and well-being. A letter containing some interim advice was published on 17 November 2011 and recognised that data about a patient or service user should—with the right safeguards—be shared between all the organisations involved in caring for that person. We agree—and this initial feedback, together with the more detailed report which we expect to be published in December, will help to inform the strategy.
	The information revolution consultation and the summary of responses are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_120080

Diabetes: Young People

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of missed appointments booked on behalf of young people and adolescents with diabetes; and what steps he is taking to reduce the numbers of such missed appointments. [R]

Paul Burstow: We do not collect this information centrally.

Diamorphine

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what funding he plans to allocate to explore the wider prescribing of diamorphine up to March 2015; to whom; which activities will be funded; and which body will be responsible for allocating the funding;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of patients who will receive treatment as a result of the wider prescribing of diamorphine up to March 2015.

Anne Milton: £2 million per annum has been identified for centrally-funded pilots of supervised inject able opioid treatment for the small numbers who may benefit. The procurement process for these pilots is still subject to ministerial and HM Treasury approval. Pending such approval the other information requested is not available.

GP Patient Lists

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to GPs on removing patients from their lists.

Simon Burns: The procedures which a general practitioner (GP) practice must follow when removing a patient from its list are set out in the regulations covering the contractual arrangements between the GP practice and its primary care trust (PCT).
	Under the terms of its contract, a GP practice may remove any patient from its list of national health service patients if it believes that it has reasonable grounds for doing so. Patients should be given a warning before action is taken for removal and specific reasons as to why the removal has occurred.
	If anyone who has been removed from a practice list has difficulty in finding another practice, the PCT has a legal responsibility to find them a practice with which to register.

GP Patient Lists

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who will be responsible for assigning patients who have been removed from their GP list to other GP lists after the abolition of primary care trusts as part of his proposed NHS reforms.

Simon Burns: Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, this responsibility will lie with the NHS Commissioning Board.

GP Patient Lists

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what complaint handling procedures there will be for patients who have been removed from a GP list following the abolition of primary care trusts; and whether this process will include (a) the practice manager of the relevant GP practice, (b) the Clinical Commissioning Group lead, (c) the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman and (d) any other body; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: We envisage that the current arrangements for handling national health service complaints will continue following the implementation of the Health and Social Care Bill.
	The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 allow for a complaint about NHS services to be made to either the commissioner or the provider of those NHS services.
	Each commissioner or provider of NHS services must designate a complaints manager, to be responsible for managing the procedures for handling and considering complaints.
	If a complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of their complaint at local level, they will continue to be able to take their complaint to the health service ombudsman.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the performance was of (a) Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, (b) East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, (c) Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, (d) Medway NHS Foundation Trust against the 18 week waiting time target in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11; and what the performance was in England in each such year.

Simon Burns: The information requested is shown in the following tables. The data show the performance of each of the four trusts and England in the specified years against the 18-week waiting time standards:
	
		
			   Percentage of admitted (adjusted) referral to treatment (RTT) pathways within 18-weeks (waiting time standard of 90%) 
			   England Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Medway NHS Foundation Trust 
			  April 2008 86.7 71.8 84.7 57.4 92.3 
			  May 2008 88.6 80.2 87.2 62.3 91.8 
			  June 2008 88.9 78.9 87.2 68.5 95.1 
			  July 2008 89.9 80.8 87.5 68.1 96.0 
			  Auqust2008 90.3 87.6 87.0 68.8 96.8 
			 2008-09 September 2008 90.2 96.2 84.4 74.3 95.8 
			  October 2008 90.6 93.9 83.5 81.0 95.4 
			  November 2008 90.6 91.8 81.9 85.2 93.6 
			  December 2008 92.8 94.3 86.1 90.6 96.5 
			  January 2009 92.9 95.4 90.2 90.6 94.2 
			  February 2009 92.8 95.0 90.2 90.2 93.3 
			  March 2009 93.0 94.2 91.3 90.6 94.4 
			  April 2009 93.3 92.0 90.1 90.1 93.1 
			  May 2009 93.7 91.7 90.8 92.3 94.8 
			  June 2009 93.6 91.4 90.4 90.3 94.0 
			  July 2009 93.7 91.8 91.9 90.9 95.3 
			  August 2009 93.6 90.9 91.5 90.1 94.3 
			 2009-10 September 2009 93.3 91.0 91.4 92.3 95.9 
			  October 2009 93.0 91.2 92.3 93.3 96.1 
			  November 2009 92.8 91.1 92.6 92.4 96.3 
			  December 2009 93.3 92.8 92.5 92.2 95.9 
			  January 2010 92.6 91.5 91.5 92.5 95.0 
			  February 2010 91.9 91.1 84.3 93.2 93.7 
			  March 2010 92.0 93.5 81.8 95.0 93.3 
			 2010-11 April 2010 92.1 94.3 86.0 93.3 92.1 
			  May 2010 92.9 95.3 86.9 93.6 91.6 
			  June 2010 93.1 96.0 89.0 94.3 90.8 
			  July 2010 93.3 95.8 91.8 94.4 90.6 
			  August 2010 93.2 93.7 92.2 93.8 91.8 
			  September 2010 92.5 92.8 91.5 93.7 90.5 
			  October 2010 92.4 91.9 92.0 93.0 90.6 
			  November 2010 92.0 92.4 91.1 93.9 90.3 
			  December 2010 92.2 90.1 90.6 94.2 92.9 
		
	
	
		
			  January 2011 90.7 87.8 89.4 92.9 90.1 
			  February 2011 89.8 89.4 86.5 92.9 90.2 
			  March 2011 89.6 94.5 86.1 92.7 91.5 
		
	
	
		
			   Percentage of non-admitted RTT pathways within 18-weeks (waiting time standard of 95%) 
			  Month England Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Medway NHS Foundation Trust 
			  April 2008 92.1 90.3 96.9 80.0 94.7 
			  May 2008 92.8 91.2 96.2 86.4 97.1 
			  June 2008 93.7 95.7 96,4 90.0 98.0 
			  July 2008 94.6 93.6 96.6 91.1 99.7 
			  Auqust2008 95.0 95.2 97.0 91.4 97.6 
			 2008-09 September 2008 95.4 95.6 96.5 94.2 96.7 
			  October 2008 94.8 96.2 97.5 96.7 96.4 
			  November 2008 96.2 96.5 97.0 95.0 96.3 
			  December 2008 96.8 96.5 97.2 95.4 97.9 
			  January 2009 97.1 97.4 98.6 95.6 98.1 
			  February 2009 97.1 97.4 98.5 95.1 97.3 
			  March 2009 97.2 97.3 97.9 95.2 97.3 
			  April 2009 97.3 97.1 98.3 95.1 97.7 
			  May 2009 97.6 97.2 96.5 95.8 97.5 
			  June 2009 97.6 97.2 97.0 95.4 98.6 
			  July 2009 97.6 97.6 99.5 95.2 97.8 
			  August 2009 97.6 97.8 99.3 95.0 97.4 
			 2009-10 September 2009 97.5 97.7 99.2 95.2 97.8 
			  October 2009 97.6 97.9 99.1 96.0 98.5 
			  November 2009 97.7 97.6 97.6 96.4 98.7 
			  December 2009 97.8 98.2 98.9 95.9 99.0 
			  January 2010 97.7 97.6 95.3 96.2 98.3 
			  February 2010 97.7 97.4 99.0 96.1 98.4 
			  March 2010 97.8 97.9 99.2 96.1 98.9 
			 2010-11 April 2010 97.9 98.0 99.2 96.1 98.7 
			  May 2010 98.1 98.1 98.0 96.0 99.4 
			  June 2010 98.1 98.5 97.7 95.9 98.8 
			  July 2010 98.0 98.4 97.5 96.2 99.2 
			  August 2010 98.0 98.5 97.9 95.8 98.7 
			  September 2010 97.8 98.2 97.2 95.8 98.7 
			  October 2010 97.6 98.7 97.4 96.5 98.8 
			  November 2010 97.5 98.3 96.2 96.0 98.3 
			  December 2010 97.5 98.4 97.1 97.1 98.3 
			  January 2011 97.2 97.7 95.6 95.9 98.2 
			  February 2011 97.1 97.5 95.3 95.7 98.3 
			  March 2011 97.2 98.0 96.2 97.7 98.6 
			 Notes: 1. Admitted RTT pathways are waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and involved admission to hospital. 2. Non-admitted RTT pathways are waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and did not involve admission to hospital. 3. Adjustments are made to admitted RTT pathways for clock pauses, where a patient had declined reasonable offers of admission and chosen to wait longer.

Infant Foods: Marketing

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions his Department has had with baby milk manufacturers on the advertising and marketing of their products.

Anne Milton: There have been no recent discussions between the Department and infant formula (baby milk) manufacturers on the advertising and marketing of their products.

Medicine: Research

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and (b) Minister for Science and Universities on the effects of the Government's policies on (i) medical research and (ii) the future of the Clinical Excellence Awards Scheme.

Simon Burns: In line with the. practice of previous Administrations, details of ministerial discussions on ongoing policy issues are not disclosed, as this could undermine effective Government decision-making. Any issues that require the consideration of Cabinet or reporting to Parliament will be dealt with according to the proper protocol.
	In 2011, the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration led a review on the Clinical Excellence award scheme. Their report is currently being considered by Ministers.

NHS: Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of active members of the NHS Pension Scheme earning less than £15,000 per year (a) are female and (b) work part-time.

Simon Burns: Estimates based on data extracted from the Electronic Staff Record in March 2011 for Hospital and Community Health services staff show that the proportion of active members of the NHS Pension Scheme earning less than £15,000 per year that (a) are female is 90% and (b) work part-time is 88%.

NHS: Pensions

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of the NHS pension scheme of each NHS profession had a pension fund worth more than £1 million at retirement in each financial year since 1997.

Simon Burns: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

NHS: Standards

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Information Commissioner's recent ruling in respect of his Department's strategic risk register, if he will arrange for the register to be published.

Simon Burns: The Department is considering its response to the Information Commissioner's decision of 2 November to require its release, and expects to respond by early December.

Nutrition

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 746W, on nutrition, whether any impact assessments were carried out in cases where his Department has developed Public Health Responsibility Deal pledges on a basis of limited evidence; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Impact assessments have not been carried out on the Public Health Responsibility Deal's pledges. The pledges represent a series of voluntary commitments, which public, private and third sector organisations are able to sign up to if they wish.

Obesity

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England aged (a) under five, (b) between five and 16 and (c) over 16 years old, were classified as obese in each financial year since 1997.

Anne Milton: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Information on the percentage of obese children in England is available in the ‘Health Survey for England—2009 trend tables'’ Child trend tables, Table 4. Information is provided for children aged two to 15 in England for the years 1995 to 2009. This information is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hse09trends
	Information on the percentage of obese adults aged 16 and over in England is available in the ‘Health Survey for England—2009 trend tables’, Adult trend tables, Table 4. Information is provided for adults in England for the years 1993 to 2009. This information is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hse09trends
	Further information on the prevalence of obesity in children is available through the National Child Measurement Programme. Information is available for children in reception (four to five years) and year 6 (10 to 11 years) for the years 2006-07 to 2009-10. Information showing the prevalence of obesity in these two school years in England is available for each year from the following links:
	Table 1 in the excel file accompanying ‘National Child Measurement Programme: results from the 2007/08 school year, headline results’ is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/national-child-measurement-programme-results-from-the-school-year-2007-08
	Table 1 in the excel file accompanying ‘National Child Measurement Programme: results from the 2006/07 school year, headline results’ is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/national-child-measurement-programme-results-from-the-2006-07-school-year
	All these documents have already been placed in the Library.
	Table 1 in the excel file accompanying ‘National Child Measurement Programme: England, 2009/10 school year’ is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/national-child-measurement-programme-england-2009-10-school-year
	Table 1 in the excel file accompanying ‘National Child Measurement Programme: England, 2008/09 school year’ is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/national-child-measurement-programme-england-2008-09-school-year
	Copies of these documents have been placed in the Library.

Organs: Donors

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2011, Official Report, column 628W, on organ donors, what the evidential basis is for the conclusion that his Department is on track to meet the 50 per cent. improvement in deceased donor rates by 2013 anticipated by the Organ Donation Taskforce; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Organ Donation Taskforce anticipated that we would meet a 50% improvement in deceased donor rates by 2013. Latest available figures show that deceased donor numbers have increased by 31.4% against the 2007-08 baseline. We are on target to achieve a 35% increase by March 2012 and a 50% increase by the following year as it is expected that there will be even greater increments in the last year.
	Since the publication of the report by the Organ Donation Taskforce in 2008, a great deal of work has taken place to strengthen the donation programme and increase the number of organs available for patients. There are now over 200 highly trained specialist nurses for organ donation based in hospitals across the country and NHS Blood and Transplant is continuing to train and recruit more staff into this vital role. Clinical leads for organ donation have been appointed in every acute hospital working closely with hospital organ donation committees to increase donation rates.
	The appointment of Chris Rudge to chair a Transitional Steering Group pending the introduction of the new Commissioning Board will help maintain the momentum of improvement focusing action on increasing consent rates, encouraging deceased donation in all appropriate circumstances and increasing donation from emergency medicine.

Organs: Donors

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress the NHS has made towards its target of a 50 per cent. increase in organ donation by 2013.

Anne Milton: Latest available figures show that deceased donor numbers have increased by 31.4% against the 2007-08 baseline. We are on target to achieve a 35% increase by March 2012 and a 50% increase by the following year.

Organs: Donors

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organ donation registrations there have been in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Anne Milton: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			 Additions to the organ donor register (ODR), April 2008 to March 2011, by year 
			 Added in year ODR Percentage increase 
			 2008-09 1,073,000 7.4 
			 2009-10 1,191,000 7.6 
			 2010-11 930,000 5.5 
			 Total on ODR at 31 March 2011 17,765,000 — 
			 Notes: 1. The reason for the reduced rate of increase for 2010-11 when compared to the previous years is because registration to the ODR was put on hold while NHS Blood and Transplant resolved a registration system issue. 2. The number of people signed up to the ODR as at 15 November 2011 was 18,412,041. Source: NHS Blood and Transplant.

Palliative Care

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bed days the NHS provided for palliative care in the last 12 months.

Paul Burstow: The number of finished consultant episode bed days for the main specialty ‘palliative medicine’ in 2010-11 as reported in the Hospital Episode Statistics was 115,487(1). However, these data reflect the specialty of the consultant responsible for the care of the patient not the range of treatment that the patient received. It is not possible to extrapolate from these data to say how many people receive palliative care in national health service hospitals: for example, a patient under the care of a cardiologist might also receive palliative care but the data would record the cardiology specialism.
	The final report of the independent Palliative Care Funding Review (PCFR) recognised that there is a paucity of data available on palliative care. The Department is working with the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network and through the work to take forward the PCFR to address this issue.
	(1) source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics and The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Pancreatic Cancer

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of implementing the actions contained in his Department’s document, “Improving Outcomes: a Strategy for Cancer” on pancreatic cancer survival rates.

Paul Burstow: The coalition Government’s document, “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, was published on 12 January, it sets out a range of actions to improve cancer outcomes, including diagnosing cancer earlier, helping people to live healthier lives to reduce preventable cancers, screening more people, introducing new screening programmes and ensuring that all patients have access to the best possible treatment, care and support.
	The strategy sets out our ambition to bring England’s cancer survival rates in line with the European average by 2014-15. Research has shown that to match the European average we need to save 5,000 additional lives per year. This research also shows that if England’s survival rates were as good as the best in Europe we would save 10,000 additional lives per year. This figure has also been broken down by tumour site, and we estimate that we would save 75 additional lives each year if we matched the best European survival rate for pancreatic cancer.
	The strategy’s first annual report will be published this winter.

Schools: Sports

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how he plans to assess the health benefits children gain from participating in the School Games programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the additional health benefits children are likely to derive from being involved in competitive sport as part of the School Games programme; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The School Games will have a focus on encouraging participation in sport across the spectrum of abilities and experience and those who have not previously engaged in competitive sport. Currently over a third of schools in England have signed up for the School Games. Through their participation, thousands of children and young people will be working towards the Chief Medical Officer's guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate intensity activity a day. The health benefits will flow from the levels of participation, particularly those who are least active.
	We are also funding the development of Change4Life school sport hubs in order to inspire the least active children and young people into participating in the School Games. Initial findings from the recent establishment of 3,000 Change4Life School Sports Clubs in secondary schools are encouraging. We will shortly publish the independent evaluation of the first year of the programme.
	Competitive sport is a way for young people to develop their talents and increase their self-confidence, resilience and self-esteem. It can also help develop important life skills such as teamwork and dedication. The benefits of competitive sport and regular activity can also be seen in improved concentration and academic performance, enhanced cardio-metabolic and bone health and improved psychological well-being.

Schools: Sports

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the health benefits of increased participation by children in school sports over the last six years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Participation in school sport supports children and young people to develop the skills and confidence to play sport and be physically active. The benefits of physical activity include healthy weight, enhanced cardio-metabolic and bone health and improved psychological well-being.
	Initial findings from the recent establishment of 3,000 Change4Life school sports clubs in secondary schools are encouraging. We will shortly publish the independent evaluation of the first year of the programme.

Schools: Sports

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to promote healthy lifestyles among school age children; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Public Health White Paper, ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People’, makes clear our life-course approach to health promotion. Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, the responsibility for health improvement and promotion will transfer to local authorities. They will receive ring-fenced funding from 2013 to promote healthy lifestyle choices by school-aged children such as risky sexual behaviour, smoking, drugs, alcohol and lack of physical activity.
	The school nursing service plays a key role in supporting schools as health-promoting environments. The Department is developing a new vision for school nurses, drawing on views of young people and collaboration with the sector.
	In addition, the Healthy Schools toolkit remains available for schools to support their work on health promotion and behaviour change. The Healthy Child Programme for school-aged children outlines for commissioners and professionals the evidenced based interventions to promote good health.
	Furthermore, the new social marketing strategy ‘Changing Behaviours, Improving Outcomes’ recognises that young people need tailored support to assist them with making healthy and responsible choices. A new approach, to be launched next year, is being developed. It aims to reduce harmful lifestyle choices through better signposting for both young people and their parents to credible and high quality health advice.

Social Services

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people receiving care in the community in (a) Kent and (b) England in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11.

Paul Burstow: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care collects and publishes data on the number of adults (aged 18 and over) receiving community-based services, funded either partially or wholly by councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs).
	Community-based services include home care, day care, meals, short-term residential (but not respite) care, direct payments, professional support, equipment and adaptations.
	Information on such services which are arranged and funded privately by service users is not collected centrally.
	The following table shows the number of people, aged 18 and over, who received community-based services from CASSRs in the period 1 April to 31 March, 2008-09 and 2009-10 in Kent and England.
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 
			 Kent 37,465 39,310 
			 England total 1,537,380 1,464,140 
			 Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest five. Source: NHS Information Centre—Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care (RAP) Return P1 
		
	
	Provisional data for the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 are due to be published by the Information Centre on 30 November 2011.

Surgery

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned on the minimum number of procedures carried out per year required for an arterial centre to provide the most effective care for patients.

Simon Burns: The Department has not commissioned research on this specific topic.
	The National Institute for Health Research funds the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York, one of the largest groups in the world engaged exclusively in evidence synthesis in the health field. The centre produces the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, which is focused primarily on systematic reviews that evaluate the effects of health care interventions and the delivery and organisation of health services, including evidence on standards relating to vascular surgical procedures.

Transplant Surgery: Public Appointments

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to recruit a new national clinical director for transplantation following the retirement of the current appointee.

Anne Milton: On 9 November 2011, the Government announced that Chris Rudge has been appointed to chair a Transitional Steering Group (TSG). The TSG has been established to help maintain the momentum to achieve the target of a 50% increase in organ donation rates by 2013 pending the introduction of the NHS Commissioning Board. During the transitional period, the TSG will Focus on—optimising deceased donation rates through undertaking brainstem death testing and considering donation after cardiac death in all appropriate circumstances, increasing consent rates, increasing donation from emergency medicine, timely referral of donors and better donor management.
	The independent Organ Donation Taskforce was established in December 2006 to identify barriers to organ donation and to recommend what action needed to be taken to increase organ donation within the United Kingdom. Chris Rudge was a member of the taskforce and wrote its first report, published in January 2008, “Organs for Transplants”. The report made a total of 14 recommendations broadly to increase donor rates and to make organ donation a usual part of end-of-life care.